Yogurt Stop’s owners on Friday announced their longtime West Hollywood snack shop will close for good Oct. 2.
“Dear Community, Friends, Family, Visitors and Everyone!
THANK YOU for 15 unbelievable and amazing years!!!
When we opened January 2nd, 2009, YOU made us a healthy business. For the past 15 years, YOU kept us healthy.
Because of YOU, we are able to close our doors a healthy business.
Our last day of operation will be October 2nd, 2023.
Again, thank you for all your support throughout the years.
We’ve made many friends and are so grateful. We couldn’t have done it without you.
We love you so much!
XXX,
Marta & Shoshana (and Elf)”
Two years ago, Yogurt Stop was involved in a much-publicized dispute with their landlord. It is unknown whether their lease was renewed or not.
Â
Greedy landlords + insanely high minimum wage = businesses closing
Let’s not forget about the brain child of this business is Marta’s former partner Misti Cooper. Misti was the engine to this business, she was amazing at building the concept and image as well as being brilliant with the public relations to make this place an exciting and fun center as WeHo’s unofficial community center. They had something for all facets of our community. It was a place were club kids could have a quick snack during a night out as well as a perfect gathering spot for the recovery community after meetings. Also the rest of the community loved… Read more »
That explains a lot. I always wondered why they abandoned the party atmosphere and became like every other dour yogurt place…until it eventually became a convenience store. Sad to see them lose their way.
It’s a shame that Misti was pushed out. She kept it edgy and cool. It was never just about yogurt, it was a hotspot and a meeting place. I’m not sure that the new owners ever understood this when they did the hostile takeover.
Truth, all the truth! Misti is a pistol and she made the place fun and exciting. And people don’t know that they originally also had a silent partner, Jeff, who oversaw finance.
Thank you for 15 years!
So many small businesses have closed in the city in the last few years,it is not funny.Hope a new business with good appeal to the shopping public will open up in that space.Sad that landlords are letting these spaces remain vacant.
They had a great run and were trendsetters. Rent on a major street line SMB is just out of line with a frozen yogurt shop. Landlord is looking for at least a 10 year lease I hear.
Also, according to Mashed LAST year: “To understand the fluctuations in customers’ demand for froyo, it’s important to examine how the dessert maps onto diet trends in America. Frozen yogurt first rode the low-fat diet wave in the 1980s. It managed to recapture that success in the early to mid-2000s with marketing that touted the health benefits of yogurt’s probiotics and framed the product as a healthier alternative to ice cream. However, over time (and partially due to the abundance of sugary toppings offered by froyo stores), customers began to lose confidence in the industry’s health-related claims, explains Taste Cooking. … Read more »
These landlords won’t give 10 year leases. We tried to get one each time lease came up for renewal. Most they will give is 5. With a 10 year lease, we could assign lease to a buyer as The SBA requires 10 year lease to issue a loan. Landlords use 5 years lease it as a tool to control. All my neighbors in complex have only 5 year leases.
If we had a 10 year lease Yogurt Stop would be around for years to come. Xxx
Sorry to hear you could not get a longer term. My intel is bad then.
A lot of comments about landlords. Maybe so to some extent. But city policy and enthusiasm for pot shops and loud sidewalk-invading over capacity tourist bars with expensive drinks hasn’t helped. Landlords are taking advantage of what the city and specifically the “Rainbow District” has become.
I remember during the pandemic, they charged $2.25 for each topping for yogurt – stopped going after that – fleecing the community is sh*tty
I stopped going when my basic cup of yogurt cost more than $10
Such a shame that the landlords in our city are out of control greedy. The space will sit empty waiting for deep pockets to fill it.
Their landlord is as evil as Pump’s.
Evil? They own the property and unless this is now a communist country–they can do as they please.
What they “please” is the many “FOR LEASE” signs up at formerly functioning businesses.
I forgot to mention that Dr. Tony Mills, according to the ladies at YT, was trying to rent the space next to them and the landlord just essentially ignored him, and his reasonable offer, for years for some reason.
👍 Can’t argue with that.
I’m sad to hear this. I always loved going there.
Are they being evicted? The article linked out at the bottom suggests an ugly fight between Martshana and the landlord.
No, they just either chose not to re-lease the space or were not offered a new lease. Their lease is up in October.
This, Cafe D’Etoile, Bossa Nova, Tango Grill, Hamburger Haven, Hedley’s, Ed’s Coffee Shop, The Gay Starbucks, Supercuts, 24 Hour Fitness, Champaign, Citibank, Subway (Not Metro) and no scooters. Glad I got here early enough to see all that.
Benvenuto’s – gone but not forgotten
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Cousins Maine Lobster