With Spring finally in the air and hundreds of pre-frosh making their way to Wesleyan, Froyo World has added tons of new, delicious flavors to their repertoire! I went down to the Main Street yogurt bar to do some taste tests, and let me tell you, the results are positive! Here’s the lineup:

Original Tart- No explanation necessary. The no-fail flavor that all froyo-fans know and love.

Green Apple Tart- A light, refreshing yogurt with a sharp, green apple taste. It perfectly captures the tartness of the fruit while maintaining a creamy texture. I like mixing it with the original tart and covering it in fruit!

Dutch Chocolate- If you want to keep it simple, the Dutch Chocolate is a great option. It goes well with anything, be it another flavor of froyo, fruit, chocolate, cereal, or cookie dough.

Vanilla Bean- Like the chocolate, it’s hard to go wrong with this one. The vanilla taste is subtle but definitely present.

Graham Crackers & Cream- This is Froyo World’s flavor of the month. It’s amazingly authentic, and goes great with toppings like s’more clusters, graham crackers, and chocolate!

Toasty Marshmallow- Although it’s hard to capture the deliciousness of a marshmallow without the texture, this yogurt is as close as you can get. Mix it with Graham Crackers & Cream and Dutch Chocolate and top it with s’more clusters and marshmallow fluff for the ultimate s’more experience.

Samoa Cookie- As always, Froyo World proves their knack for authenticity with this one. It perfectly emphasizes the wonderful balance between coconut, caramel, vanilla, and chocolate flavoring that makes Samoa Cookies an American staple.

Cake Batter- One of Froyo World’s most popular flavors, Cake Batter is super sweet with a faint, cakey aftertaste. It’s a great base for crumb cake, brownies, cookie dough, and cereal.

Greek Black Cherry- This new flavor is one of the best frozen yogurts I ever tried. The texture is phenomenal. It’s thick and creamy without being too indulgent. The black cherry gives it a slight tartness, and it’s sweet enough to satisfy a craving without giving you an all day sugar high. I mixed it with original tart and topped it with fruit.

No Sugar Added Cheesecake- With only 80 calories per half-a-cup, the cheesecake flavor will be a definite hit for people trying to watch their calories. That being said, even non-dieters are sure to enjoy it’s rich, creamy cheesecake flavor. Top it with cheesecake bites, raspberries, and white chocolate chips for a real treat!

Sweet Pink Grapefruit Sorbet- Froyo World knows how to make a good sorbet. This refreshing flavor is sweet, tangy, and super delicious.

Fresh Coconut Sorbet- If you’re into coconut, you will love this flavor. It’s beyond authentic.

Needless to say, regardless of what kind of froyo experience you’re looking for, Froyo World will be able to fulfill your cravings! Definitely stop by this week and try one of their delicious new flavors, and let us know what you think!

-Ari

STORRS, CONN. (WTNH) – The University of Michigan has Ann Arbor, the University of Vermont has Burlington, now UConn has Storrs Center in downtown Mansfield, a town square many have said was missing from the Connecticut campus.

Mayor Betsy Paterson has been hearing about it since she moved to town in 1967.

“We’re trying to make this an appealing college town not only to college students, but to the people who live here,” Mayor Paterson of Mansfield said.

Froyo World is among the first eleven stores to open their doors. Husky Pizza, Subway, and Insomnia Cookies are also here allowing many to sleep easier with the completion of this first phase of construction.

“I’m a senior here and it’s been needing this for a while. UConn has been missing out, we needed a downtown area. This is the best thing that happened in a long time at this school,” Senior Mark Viola said.

Viola says it’s a safe, happening place for students day or night. Retail, rental units, even electric car hook ups in the parking garage.

Congressman Joe Courtney helped secure some of the federal funding.

“It really does show that small business and local government and support from outside that helps with infrastructure projects that all can work together to really create a good environment for growth and jobs,” Democrat Rep. Joe Courtney said.

Rep. Courtney spoke with Mary Cox, a former UConn employee who is happy to see the town square replace the strip malls which lined the Storrs campus.

“Oh my gosh. It’s grown leaps and bounds. I’m hoping my younger one will come to UConn. I want her to come to UConn,” Cox of Canterbury said.

The center aims to impress those here and those thinking about coming to UConn.

University towns face a unique challenge in fostering a successful downtown business environment. And perhaps none more so than the rural town of Mansfield, dwarfed by UConn’s massive Storrs campus. But the town is hopeful that a decade’s worth of work to construct an entirely new downtown will shortly come to fruition. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

This is FroyoWorld, has been open in Mansfield for just five weeks offering a variety of frozen yogurts to hungry students.

“We have original tart, strawberry tart, vanilla bean, dutch chocolate….”

Manager Cec Amado says the store has had a phenomenal start.

“It’s been awesome. Yeah, I mean, there’s always a line, especially around 7, 8pm. Like, it’s pretty ridiculous.”

The FroyoWorld business started three years ago in New Haven, and the Mansfield outlet is now its thirteenth in Connecticut., and Amado says his boss, the founder of the company, Dennis Bok, always intended to come here.

“He was actually a graduate here in 2006, he graduated, I believe. And it was one of his visions, to always come here and start one up in UConn.”

Froyoworld is one of eleven new businesses open in the ambitious Storrs Center project, which is just celebrating the opening of its first phase, and outside its doors, the sounds of construction are all around.

Five more businesses will open shortly, leaving just two commercial vacancies still to be filled. Macon Toledano is from Leyland Alliance, the master developer on the project.

“It’s actually exciting that even at a time when the economy is struggling, we’ve had a very positive response from tenants who want to get in here and be part of this environment.”

The project also includes 127 new rental apartments, all of which are spoken for. In coming phases the project will add another 185 residential units.

“This is a civic space. This is where university meets high school, meets town hall, meets community center, meets post office, meets center of places to go eat, shop and play. It all comes together here, and the town square is effectively a symbol of that.”

Mansfield’s Mayor, Betsy Paterson is on the board of the public-private partnership that has fostered this ambitious and at times controversial vision.

“I’ve been working on this project since the first day. Since its conception. So I’ve been working on it now for probably eleven or twelve years. And to see it finally rise out of the ground is so exciting, especially when it’s coming out of the ground looking like what we’ve envisioned for ten long years.”

Paterson says the partnership has allowed UConn and Mansfield a fresh start.

“We are a university community. A university community involves students. We have worked together to try to mitigate the problems that we’ve had in the past, ie spring weekend, those kinds of things, and we’ve made a lot of progress. The beauty of this partnership is that many other partnerships between the university and the town have opened up.”

There’s been federal funding alongside the private investment in Storrs Center. Second District congressman Joe Courtney says he’s impressed to see apartments rented and businesses already open.

“And it shows that, despite a lot of skepticism, the demand for a huge project like this was there. UConn I think sometimes gets overlooked as an economic engine. This project I think really highlights the fact that it’s really an important part of Connecticut’s economy.”

More businesses, including a convenience store will open shortly, and phase two of the project which includes a branch of the UConn Co-op and the UConn Health Center is slated for August 2013.

For WNPR, I’m Harriet Jones.

This frozen yogurt lounge has grown from one to four locations in Connecticut (Cheshire, Hamden, North Haven and Westport) and two in Massachusetts, (Franklin and Amherst, where it is a favorite for the five colleges in that little town). The menu is playful and ever changing. For example, May was Aloha month with flavors such as the banana islander, pina colada and blood orange. Billed as a healthier alternative to ice cream, the Froyo motto is “indulge yourself,” and with so many unique flavors and a long list of toppings to choose from, this bastion of the tart treat is thriving.

STORRS – What a difference a couple of years make.

That’s the time it took for Froyoworld to grow from a start-up storefront on High Street in New Haven to a company that has attracted two-dozen current and prospective franchisees and company expansions.

The latest expansion of the frozen yogurt chain is at a new mixed-use development adjacent to the UConn campus.

“We opened in New Haven a couple of years ago, and we’ve been shooting ever since,” says cofounder Dennis Bok, who is part of the company’s Franchise Development Team. For the past few months Bok, a 2004 UConn graduate, has been preoccupied with the new Storrs company store, slated to open this month. In addition to the original store in New Haven, other company stores have been established in Hamden and Providence, R.I. A fifth is in negotiations.

Photo: State officials gather with franchise owners at the opening ceremony for the newest FroyoWorld in Storrs.

Froyoworld also has newly minted franchisees in North Haven and Middletown. They were added to a roster of franchises that include locations in Westport, Mystic, Franklin, Mass. and even Puerto Rico, among others.

“[The franchise-owner in Puerto Rico] was visiting Yale and walked into the store. He wanted to take it to Puerto Rico,” recounts Bok, who adds that at any given time he and his partners are in talks with several people interested in a Froyoworld franchise. He’s not surprised that their product has generated such excitement.

“It’s a great concept, a great business model,” he says. Crowds that regularly gather at the New Haven store from early afternoon when it opens to late evening when it closes would appear to attest to that.

Froyoworld is self-service frozen yogurt lounge. Visitors walk in, pick up a container, choose from an assortment of frozen yogurt flavors and toppings that range from chocolate pieces to fruit to nuts, then place their individualized dessert on a scale at the front counter to be weighed. The retail price is 49 cents per ounce.

In addition to being tasty, Froyoworld frozen yogurt is marketed as being probiotic and touted as a healthier alternative to ice cream.

Bok’s brother William made that observation two years ago (when BNH ran a story about the new business).

“We’re just totally different from an ice cream shop,” William Bok said then. He also made note of how difficult is was to establish a business, “especially something new, in this down economy,” and expressed his desire to offer opportunities for franchises.

In addition to the Bok brothers, William’s wife Susan also is a company cofounder.

Opening each new Froyoworld carries a $250,000 to $340,000 price tag in build-out costs, says Dennis Bok. A franchise costs $15,000, plus six percent of gross sales. And Bok says company management can’t field the inquiries fast enough.

“Everyone, they just fall in love with Froyoworld,” he says, adding that stores also provide employment for local residents and students.

“We typically employ a little over ten [workers], two to three full-time and the rest part-time” for each location, says Bok. “A lot of people who work here are college students looking for part-time jobs.”

For more information about work, products or franchise opportunities at Froyoworld, call 203-777-4044.

— Felicia Hunter

Whoa guys, what a day.

8 AM crew practice, two soccer games, a football game, and… oh yeah, FROYO WORLD’S GRAND OPENING. Say whaaaat! I hope all you Wesfolk got a chance to go check out the new store down on Main Street (and possibly even get a free T-shirt). You can bet Ari and I were there at 11 AM, devouring what was probably the most ridiculous post-row breakfast known to man. But hey, at least we tried to keep our toppings healthy. Look! I even put fruit on mine!

Overall, we’d say the opening was a huge success for both the owners and the Middletown community. Outside we saw families, couples, students, and businessmen lined up to enter this wonderland of frozen delight, listening to speeches by Froyo World owner Susan Santoro as well as Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and getting pumped up by the Wes cheer team.

But let’s be serious; these people didn’t come for the gimmicks (although the event itself was extremely nice and well put together)! They were all anxiously awaiting a taste of the new flavor: cinnamon sugar cookies. And I don’t blame them; it ranks right up there with salted caramel pretzel if you ask me! Just combine the two and you’ve basically got heaven in a cup. I love the Christmas-y pop of cinnamon with the warm, savory depth of salty caramel. There’s just no surpassing it.

… Unless, of course, you add red velvet cupcake. Talk about decadence! No idea what I’m talking about? Get yourself down to Froyo World pronto.

-Alex Irace

MIDDLETOWN — The Froyo World Frozen Yogurt Lounge opened its doors Friday in the Main Street Market building, and business has already surpassed the expectations of its owners, Susan Santoro of Guilford and Kathleen Thomas of Branford.

“It’s been non stop. We haven’t even done any advertising and we had one lull, between four and five yesterday,” Santoro said.

“We didn’t even advertise,” Thomas said.

“Froyo” is a contraction of “frozen yogurt,” and the shop is self-serve. Along one wall are six dispensers that hold two flavors each, offering two sorbets and 10 frozen yogurt flavors, from vanilla bean and Dutch chocolate to birthday cake mix, salted caramel pretzel and Nutter Butter.

Froyo’s yogurt is sold by the ounce so, Santoro explains, customers can take as much or as little as they like, without having to buy a size they won’t finish. Customers can also mix and match as many flavors as they want.

“I call that ‘create your own destiny,’” Santoro said.

Upon entering the shop, customers are greeted with a smile and offered small, one-ounce cups so customers can try before they buy.

Once you fill your cup with yogurt, there are the toppings, from nuts to fruit to marshmallows and cookies. Then there are the sauces — chocolate, butterscotch, whipped cream and caramel, and even honey.

“I fell in love with the concept (of a self-service shop),” Santoro said. “About five years ago I was dropping my son off at the University of Miami and went into a store like this. I thought it was a brilliant concept,” she said.

The partners said they chose Middletown for the usual reasons.
“It’s a renaissance town and it’s an up-and-coming town… and there are so many schools in the area,” Santoro said.

Ultimately, though, Santoro said she decided on a yogurt shop because she is “obsessed with yogurt.”

“It’s not like other frozen yogurts — there is no after taste. And it’s good for you, good for your health. It does have probiotics which helps with digestion,” she said.

Santoro said the welcome by businesses in town has been warm.

“We’ve received plants and flowers and notes of congratulations. It’s been really fun so far,” she said.

As for the future, the partners are eyeing another shop in Madison.

A grand opening will be held on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 11 a.m. The first 500 customers will receive a free T-shirt.

Shop hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

No one is more aware of that than Fusion Bakery and Patisserie owner Steve Pikos, who is realizing his dream of expanding his bakery business because of its success.

Pikos will be moving into a new 2,500-square-foot home in the Riverview Plaza, which is three times larger than its current space at 386 Main St., sometime this August.

“After five years here, in this location, we are excited about the move and the opportunity to offer our customers more products,” says Pikos.

“We initially chose this spot in the Main Street Market because we felt it was up and coming and it has proved us right,” explains Pikos, who says he is moving to accommodate the bakery’s need for more space and to keep up with demand.

“Currently we put out anywhere from 600 to 800 cupcakes a week,” says Pikos, who also prepares several other sugary confections — his signature carrot cake, cherry topped cheesecakes and a vast variety of cookies, not to mention the decadent cakes — from scratch.

As one business moves on, another moves in; the popular franchise Froyoworld will be filling Fusion’s space sometime in August with a vast variety of frozen yogurt treats sure to entice and satisfying customers of all ages.

With its patented recipe for success, Froyoworld, a self-serve yogurt lounge conceived in San Francisco, CA, will be up and running just in time to welcome a new class of college freshmen to Wesleyan’s campus.

Offering a “healthy alternative to ice cream,” Froyoworld’s signature “tart” yogurt contains live active cultures and tasty flavors such Acai Blueberry Tart and Honey Lavender. The new store also offers 45 different toppings, including fruit, chocolates, nuts and others. It also offers low-fat yogurt varieties such as red velvet cupcake and caramel brulee.

The non-fat varieties include white chocolate macadamia and green tea with maca root. Non-dairy flavors of sorbets include blood orange and key lime pie.

“Fusion Bakery expanding and Froyoworld coming to town is going to be great for everyone,” says Downtown Business District Executive Director Quentin Phipps. “Fusion has used its space in the Main Street Market as an incubator to grow their business and it has worked. It is great to see a business outgrow a space and move on to a larger place in town.

“It is also great to see Froyoworld coming to town. It is a very popular franchise, especially around college campuses, so I think it will do great in this location.”

Phillips adds, “It’s obvious that the community of Middletown has embraced the renaissance of the downtown area, which has had a great impact on politics, education, transportation and the job sector. It just proves that Middletown is a great place to work, live and play.”