Brightest Young Things

A person. A photo. A story.

This Week: Steve on Being a Man of Yogurt
(click here for previous stories)

“The story about Mr. Yogato is that I worked for a company called Spacex out in Los Angeles for about five years and then was transferred to DC. When I was in LA, I had Pinkberry probably 500-600 times over two or three years, I would basically go every day. When I got to DC, I saw they didn’t have any frozen yogurt so I decided to open a place. I always wanted to open a ridiculously goofy, absurd store just because most stores here are kind of the same. It was as simple as that.

"I like yogurt and now I get free yogurt and I wanted a place where I could play games and have ridiculous rules. For example, if you give a Braveheart speech, you get a discount because that is my favorite movie. The Nintendo is from my basement and the rest of the rules and games are from customer suggestions. One guy is a big Michael Jackson fan, so we made one of the rules that if you do the Thriller dance, you get a discount. Our flavors are named by our customers. For example, that lady over there, Susan, is one of our thirty-day champions and just named a flavor Snuggiegusgata after her cats. Doesn’t tell you at all what the flavor is going to be, but it works for us.

"I thought we’d be out of business in two months because it is such a ridiculous idea for a store. But, the beauty of this is that all of the investors here have other jobs, we’re just doing it for fun. I think the reason that it did so well is that there was no pressure on the business and we do whatever we want. That fun nature is not in most businesses. I mean, where else will the owner and employees sing karaoke and play trivia with customers just to pass the time while they are waiting in line. I don’t have to be here and I am here all the time.

"Since we opened, ten other yogurt stores have opened in DC. In my opinion, most of the yogurt is the same, but I like mine the best because I made up the recipe. I would argue that most people come here because it is fun."

Find the rules of Yogato here.

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"Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer and collector of stories. In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics. Every Thursday he'll share a favorite story with us"

Previously in I Heart DC:

• 2/13: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use:
• 2/13: 101 Reasons To Love DC-Part 1
• 2/10: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
• 2/9: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
• 2/8: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
• 2/8: Perfect Date Outfits + Outings
• 2/7: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
• 2/6: DC News You Can Maybe Use:
• 2/2: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use:
• 2/1: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use: