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03 02 09 | The Wave
LA’s cult frozen yogurt bar arrives in San Jose.
Wondering what has everyone stirred up along Santana Row these days? None other than Pinkberry, the fantabulous fat-free frozen yogurt that recently arrived in San Jose after creating major buzz in Los Angeles and New York. Since opening its South Bay location earlier this year, the LA-based Pinkberry has seen daily lines of 30 or more people eagerly waiting to sample the tangy treat. Given its sophisticated approach to froyo, the new kid in the block couldn’t be more at home.
“We are focused on elevating the customer experience in every way we can,” says Pinkberry CEO and president Ron Graves, who adds that one of the company’s founders, Young Lee, was inspired in part by the experiences of his childhood. “When you think back as a kid, when you heard that ice cream truck, you got excited, you ran for it, you got your ice cream, and it was about 20 minutes of pure fun. That’s what we’re trying to create, but in a more sophisticated environment.”
With its enthusiastic employees, brightly colored interiors, pebbled floors, and shelves lined with adorable Alessi products, sophistication is certainly in the air at Pinkberry. The rainbow-colored array of yogurt toppings could bring out the child in anyone, while the flavors themselves (original, green tea and pomegranate) are all finely honed. “It’s bright, it’s exciting,” adds Graves. “It’s a fun environment to be in, which we think enhances the overall experience.”
Visuals and atmosphere aside, though, it’s the yogurt itself that keeps customers coming back. “There are three areas we focus on,” Graves explains. “One is the design of the store and the physical experience. The second is the product: the quality of the product, the quality of the toppings, the taste. We are very, very focused on taste, and maintaining a tangy yogurt taste with the flavors we introduce. The third element is really about people: the human connection between our team members (our employees) and the customers.”
It’s this triple threat philosophy that made Pinkberry such an instant hit. In fact, when Pinkberry first opened in LA, demand was so high, it was soon dubbed “the taste that launched a thousand parking tickets.” “The first store opened in January 2005 in West Hollywood, and it was not a good location from a standard retail perspective,” Graves explains. “But once they heard of Pinkberry, people would drive from all over the city, actually from hours away, and would line up for literally an hour or longer. The parking was very poor in that area, so people would just double park or park illegally to come in and get a Pinkberry. In one month, the city of West LA, I believe, made $175,000 in parking tickets, from people trying to get into Pinkberry, which was quite a phenomenon.”
Thankfully, Santana Row has plenty of parking, so people will need only patience to sample the flavors of Pinkberry.
Pinkberry, 368 Santana Row, Ste. 102, San Jose (408) 557-8135 www.pinkberry.com. Open Sun-Thu 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm.
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