Brushstrokes May Open in JanuaryPlus: Harlem gets its own Zagat guide, and a new café at the Prospect Park Picnic House, in our regular roundup of neighborhood food news.
Meltdown at Yolato’s Greenwich Village LocationJust a couple weeks after a press release bragged that Yolato was planning to overtake Pinkberry and Red Mango by installing express locations all around town, the Greenwich Village store is apparently kaput.
Red Mango Opening Up and Giving It Away in ChelseaWe’ve established that Red Mango has other fro-yo companies whipped at the giveaway game so it’s with earnest excitement that we report that the Mang’s first Chelsea(-ish) location opens today with free samples from noon to 10 p.m. The store is easily walkable from the Jamba Juice off Union Square, so insufferably nostalgic Cali expats can make it a twofer.
Red Mango, 63 W. 14th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-414-3009.
Related: Red Mango to Open December 6 With a Veritable ‘Free-Fro-All’
Openings
Red Mango to Open December 6 With a Veritable ‘Free-Fro-All’Official word has come that Red Mango’s first NYC location at 182 Bleecker — long a source of fascination — will open at 4 p.m. on December 6 with “FREE FROZEN YOGURT, GIFT CARDS, GIFT BAGS, MUSIC PRIZES” (emphasis theirs). Obviously they’re trying to trump Yolato which promised free fro-yo at their recent opening only to dole out sample sizes. So will Red Mango be fudging it, too? The publicist assures us “free frozen yogurt” means an honest-to-God half-cup (small-size) serving. We have this on tape (kidding). Gifts, meanwhile, will go to the first 50 people in line and will also be given to people throughout the day, especially people who can answer trivia questions like, “How many calories are in Red Mango?” That we’re not kidding about — so study up!
Earlier: Cold War: Yolato Now, Red Mango in December, and MySpace Forever
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Cold War: Yolato Now, Red Mango in December, and MySpace Forever
When we mentioned that a new Yolato store is opening today, we wondered when exactly the Red Mango would open across from Pinkberry on Bleecker Street. Now a rep tells us it probably won’t be till mid-December, with stores to follow in Chelsea (63 W. 14th St.), the theater district (723 Eighth Ave.) and Flushing (136-53 Roosevelt Ave).
[Ed: Disclaimer — what follows is where we start to lose it a little bit.]
NewsFeed
Cold War Continues: Bigger, Badder Yolato Opens WednesdayOn guard: On Wednesday a 50 percent larger Yolato (the first one under a partnership with Lenny’s Sandwiches) opens at 145 Park Avenue between 41st and 42nd with free fro-yo gelato for all. You might want to make note of that. And the invasion will continue! By the end of the year, freestanding stores will also come to the Empire State Building (which will serve as the flagship, opening in mid-December) and 180 Lafayette in Soho, plus there are plans for a large store in the Lenny’s at 9th Street and Sixth Avenue and nine other “express” stores in other Lenny’s locations. That’s THIRTEEN Yolatos for you; hope it’s enough.
Meanwhile, on the Bleecker Street front, Red Mango still has not opened, giving the new Pinkberry a solid two-month head start. Ritual suicide may be in order.
Related: The New Cold War: Frozen Yogurt Invades New York
User’s Guide
The New Cold War: Fro-Yo Standoff in FlushingThe Frozen-Yogurt Wars have intensified in Flushing. We spotted two new stores going up a mere 85 feet from each other on Roosevelt Avenue. Does Pinkberry have the advantage, being so close to the heavily trafficked Main Street stop on the 7 train? Or will the discriminating dessert aficionado bypass the throngs (by walking about 40 steps) to Red Mango? Too soon to tell, but we fear New York’s post-apocalyptic future where the only structures standing are bank branches and frozen-yogurt stores. Oh, and the Arepa Lady. —Aileen Gallagher
Earlier: Our coverage of the frozen-yogurt invasion
