Any New Yorker has probably noticed the spike in self-serve frozen yogurt stores in the city. There seems to be one of these stores on every street, whether it be the well known 16 Handles, or a smaller chain known as Off The Wall. Now, this trend has made its way to Riverdale, a suburban-like town in the Northern Bronx. Last winter, YoBurger opened on Riverdale Avenue, just blocks away from Menchies, which opened on Johnson Avenue in June. Both stores are located on the two main streets in Riverdale, and because they both serve frozen yogurt, an element of competition has been introduced to the sleepy town.
YoBurger is a burger and fries joint, also offering self-serve frozen yogurt at 49 cents per ounce. The restaurant has tables inside as well as benches outside. It plays loud music and seems to appeal to more of a teenage and adult crowd, but families and children can be seen there as well. Although bacon and cheeseburgers are options at YoBurger, according to the website, all of its frozen yogurt is certified as Kosher, a bonus the primarily Jewish neighborhood.
Menchies also offers Kosher frozen yogurt, with over twice the number of flavors YoBurger has. While YoBurger has 6 flavors of fro-yo, Menchies has 14 flavors priced at 56 cents per ounce. Unlike YoBurger, Menchies is a national chain and is able to make non-fat, low-fat, and sugar-free options. This is the first Menchies location to open in the New York City area.
Ajani Skeete, a 16 year old living in Riverdale, is excited about the new openings, but she feels that if Riverdale is going to be more “trendy”, it needs more than just frozen yogurt stores. She says, “The atmosphere at YoBurger is more family oriented and more of a hangout spot, while Menchie’s seems to appeal to children more.” However, she adds that even though Menchies has an impressive number of flavors, she likes that at YoBurger, one can have dinner and desert in the same store. Even though she likes the wider variety of flavors at Menchies, she likes YoBurger better because of how well it goes with a burger.
Dafine Hysaj, an employee at YoBurger says she doesn’t think it has lost business since Menchies opened, since “they can offer real food, like burgers, which Menchies can’t do.” She adds that YoBurger gets less customers during the summer since people go on vacation, but that Menchies doesn’t seem to pose any kind of threat. Sarah, a mother of 2 who goes to YoBurger “on a weekly basis”, adds that even though Menchies has more flavors, she finds the burger joint to be easier, since they have a meal and a dessert, as well as more seating. However, ultimately, she prefers YoBurger over Menchies because it’s a local business, something Riverdale is in “desperate need of”.
Skeete and Sarah both agree that no matter which store one likes better, these additons have made Riverdale a much nicer area and hope that more fun stores will open soon. According to Skeete, “I think there are a lot of families in Riverdale, and eventually the kids grow up and want more to do than to just go to the park. YoBurger and Menchies are both helping to add better activities for us.”