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Park Slope Residents Unhappy with Flood of Frozen Yogurt Shops

By Leslie Albrecht | October 22, 2012 8:49am

PARK SLOPE — A frozen yogurt wave is crashing over Park Slope, but not everyone wants to ride it.

Several purveyors of the frosty figure-conscious confection have opened in the several months, including Yogurberry, Pinkberry, and Fro Yo on The Park next to the Pavilion movie theater. The neighborhood also has a Tasti D-Lite on Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street, and a Yogo Monster on Seventh Avenue and Union Street.

Earlier this month Pearl Gate frozen yogurt shop opened on Fifth Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. The newest arrival, Yogurtland, is slated to move into a vacant restaurant space on Seventh Avenue and Third Street, Here's Park Slope reported.

Some locals don't seem pleased with the fro yo flood. "WTF? Another one?" someone scrawled on the "Coming Soon" banner outside the new Yogurtland.

A commenter on Here's Park Slope lamented, "How many frozen yogurt places can Park Slopers handle? What's this place becoming? Land of designer pizzas and fro-yos? I should seriously consider moving to Carroll Gardens or Clinton Hill."

"They're everywhere," said 26-year-old Park Sloper Valerie Weigand. "It's trendy, like cupcakes and macarons."

Her favorite in the neighborhood is Culture: An American Yogurt Company, which opened on Fifth Avenue, between Fourth and Third streets 18 months ago.

Culture's store manager Ciro Mercado said his shop is a different breed than the mass market establishments like Pinkberry. Culture makes its own yogurt on the premises and uses local Hudson Valley milk. Toppings include quirkier choices like crystallized ginger and buckwheat honey.

Customers, including a steady stream of students from nearby M.S. 51, said they appreciated Culture's more sophisticated flavors, which change regularly. A recent line-up included strawberry mint, lemon thyme and organic pistachio almond.

"They don't have ordinary flavors," said 12-year-old Nyche Collins as she dug into her after-school snack of frozen yogurt.

But the Park Slope fro-yo market could be reaching its saturation point. Yogo Monster is reportedly closing this month, Here's Park Slope reported.