Mrs. Wonka's Factory

I’m sure you’ve heard about the ever so popular frozen yogurt shops that have been emerging recently, places like Sweet Frog, Yolo, Yogo, and so on.  Up until now, ice cream was the more popular desert.  What makes frozen yogurt stand apart from ice cream you ask?  Ice cream contains cream and frozen yogurt contains low or non-fat yogurt. When comparing them, frozen yogurt is healthier than ice cream but not by much.  The difference in taste is what will sway someone one way or another, Ice cream has a rich and sweet creamy taste, while frozen yogurt has a heavier texture and is a bit tangier from the yogurt.  Both are extremely delicious, it just comes down to personal preference.  There is a nice article that explains the differences in more detail here.  What makes frozen yogurt so popular is the variety of styles and creations you can make, as well as the flashy themes and decorations of the places, showing you what Mrs. Wonka's store may look like if it were real.

Yogo Crazy, a frozen yogurt shop, is a popular place to go in Reading, PA for frozen treats.  Upon arrival, you see the small and rather bland looking tan building.  That is, until your eyes meet with the sign, it’s an array of bright colors like pink, yellow, purple, blue, and red forming each letter.  The words resemble when you were a kid and would write your name in bubble font.  The sign reads, “YOGO CRAZY Frozen Yogurt.” Under the sign is a slanted roof that is rectangular shaped and the color style of it looks like a peeled orange, having stripes of different shades of orange.  The seating area outside has small circular tables with the same peeled orange design on them with silver chairs.  The business logo decorates the tables, accompanied with colorful umbrellas inside of the holders for when the hot sun comes out.  If you’re the curious type, you would probably be urged to enter the building if you were just walking by. By taking a glance around at the people sitting in the outside eating area, they are all smiling and laughing and they have something in their hands, a dish of frozen yogurt.  Some are very colorful and full of toppings while others are just regular with some fruit on top.  There is something about seeing others with their creations that makes you think about what you might be able to create by yourself inside, and gives a mouthwatering sensation.  The whole entrance to the building is like one big window, but not fully transparent to allow you to fully see everything inside.  However, that’s part of the mystery and the doors are wide open and they call your name to come in for a visit.  You can’t see much more than the floor when you’re standing outside, there’s just something about the building that seems inviting and exciting.

When you enter the building, it’s quite obvious they went for a more laid back and fun setting.  The shape of the room resembles a lowercase “b” and there is color every single place that can be looked at.  The walls, chairs, and tables are all very bright shades of blue, red, green, yellow, orange, and pink.  The ceiling fans are modeled after pinwheels that you see spinning in the wind.  There is music playing throughout, its modern pop music and adds even more to the bubbly and upbeat vibe.  There is a clash of styles and design, like the floor, it changes from white tiles to a glossy hardwood, and the walls from brightly painted to small brown square slabs, but somehow it all pulls together and looks shockingly nice.  There is an inside eating area with booths and the tables are like looking inside of a kaleidoscope, there are many shapes and colors all blended together in what looks like a grinded up rainbow.  Waiting for frozen yogurt isn't a hassle, the store is very vibrant and people can be seen making their creations and tasting them, then closing there eyes and mumbling, "Mmmm."  After watching everyone else have their fun you start to get even more ideas of your own  There is something about this place that makes everyone laugh and smile, it’s contagious.  How can someone not be happy with frozen yogurt and crazy toppings?

“We have about 15 flavors at any given time, but they are always changing with the seasonal flavors replacing them or new flavors coming in.” enthusiastically said Shelley, manager of Yogo.  Shelley is an older woman that has brown pulled back hair with a yogo hat and is medium height.  Her cheekbones are raised high and she is constantly smiling, giving the impression she is a really happy person, she definitely gives off that vibe.  To get yogurt, walk over to the cup section and grab a size, crazy or crazier, and make a creation.  The price of the yogurt creation is dependent on how much it weighs, there is a certain cost per ounce.  The flavors are along the back wall and are set up into different sections.  In each section there are two flavors, you can get them individually, or blend them together.  When pulling the lever to get frozen yogurt, it slowly comes out and is very vibrant and looks very rich and thick.  “I’ve always been a fan of the more fruity flavors like watermelon and cherry mixed with vanilla and then adding actual fruit and sprinkles.” Shelley declares.  There are two types of toppings, cold and dry.  The dry ones are located in the back in big clear tubes labeled “The Great Wall Of Yogo”, the transparency of the tubes allows you to see each topping.  From the multi colored fruity pebbles and sprinkles, to the brown graham crackers, to the black oreos, it’s quite a spectacular sight to see for people of all ages.  “In total, there is over 50 toppings you can get here. That’s enough for anyone if you ask me!” Shelley says as she laughs.

“Yogo is a self-serve restaurant and that cuts out the need for extra workers like chefs and waiters to make and prepare the food for you.”  The process of going in and getting your dessert takes about five minutes, it really is quick.  “The workers here are all happy and vibrant, as you can tell” Shelley smiles, “It’s not a hard job, we just bill the customer and when we get shipments of toppings and yogurt, we replace them when need be.  The biggest part is just providing the customer with whatever help they need and to hopefully bring smiles to people’s faces.”  Bringing smiles to people’s faces is exactly what Yogo does, they not only make you feel like you’re at Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory with all the delicious treats and colors, but they have excellent customer service and aim to really please the customer.  With a barrage of warm and inviting colors, any combination of frozen yogurt and toppings your mind can think of, and workers with bubbly and cheerful attitudes, you can’t go wrong.