Tracy Schuhmacher

@RahChaChow

At least five frozen yogurt shops in the Rochester area have closed, but that doesn't necessarily mean people have gone sour on tubs of soft, tangy swirls, loaded with toppings.

The Yolickity Frozen Yogurt Bar at the Twelve Corners in Brighton was the most recent to shut down. Other include Yotini Frozen Yogurt Bar in Penfield; Yolishous on Park Avenue and in Gates; and Soho Yogurt Cafe in Greece.

The closings appear to mirror a softening of the frozen yogurt market on a national level. The frozen yogurt shop industry grew at a rapid average annual rate of 18.2 percent during the five-year period leading up to 2015, according to IBISWorld, a market research firm. IBISWorld projects revenue will continue to grow in the years leading up to 2020, but at a much slower 5 percent annual rate, because prime locations without direct competition are becoming scarce.

"It is a tough market. It’s pretty much saturated at this time," said Jill Failla, an associate editor at Technomic, a Chicago-based food service consulting and market research firm.

"When a concept focuses on one kind of food, it’s more high risk,” Failla said. "The favorite categories tend to shift and change with consumer trends.”

Frozen yogurt shops experienced a comeback in the 2000s; many revolved around the concept of self-service machines and an abundance of available toppings. Yolickity and Yotality were the first to kick off Rochester's resurgence in 2012, said Jon Crabbe, one of the owners of Yolickity. After that, new shops popped up frequently; Crabbe estimated the number peaked at 25 in the area.

"I think that's more than what the market can bear," he said. "I think you'll see it go from 25 stores to eight or nine stores."

As for the Brighton location, "it just never turned out to what we thought it would," he said.

After the Bagel Bin Café closed in the space in 2011, the concept was to create a food-court style business, called The Meeting Place, in which Yolickity would operate alongside a Bruegger's Bagels and a Caribou Coffee. The hope was to revive the community feel of the Bagel Bin, which had a large open seating area and private meeting room.

Yolickity was the first to open there in the spring of 2014. Brueggers and Caribou Coffee never materialized, but Sabra Grill, a fast-casual Israeli and Middle Eastern restaurant, opened later in 2014. Its owner hopes for some new neighbors soon.

"It is kind of strange to be in a big empty building," said Noy Cohen. "We'd like to stay where we are. Brighton is perfect for us."

Another factor that worked against Yolickity's Brighton location: A Yotality opened across the street.

"It was too much competition for this kind of product," Crabbe said. Frozen yogurt is not like coffee shops, he said, in which customers may visit daily, making it possible for more than one to operate in close proximity.

The Yolickity shops in Webster, Greece and Henrietta remain open and viable, Crabbe said.

"Our position right now is to wait and see how it (the Rochester market) consolidates," Crabbe said. "We believe we're here to stay."

Single-store, mom-and-pop operations, which are not backed by the marketing muscle of a national chain or franchise, can feel the squeeze in this kind of a market. One such store is Yummies Frozen Yogurt and Specialty Coffee, at 80 N. Main St. in Fairport. It is owned by brothers Ken and Larry Cohen.

"It (the business) is not to where I wanted it to be," said Ken Cohen.

These shops can succeed if there’s not immense competition and if they find something that sets them apart, Failla noted. This could be an unusual service format, a unique key ingredient or another product benefit.

"We actually want to be different from everyone else," said Ken Cohen. "We didn't just want to do yogurt. We do things that are a little bit different. We've slowly added things to the menu as time has gone on. "

In addition to frozen yogurt, Yummies sells specialty coffees and various ice cream products. Many parents will grab a coffee while the children enjoy their yogurt, he said.

The shop brought on soups and cheese bread from Nathan's Soup and Salad last winter. Four soups and cheese bread are served daily from approximately October through April, and they often sell out by the end of the day. The soups have helped attract new people to the shop and bring in traffic during the cold months. The brothers are considering adding sandwiches to the mix at some point in the future.

Gene O'Donovan, who owns 11 Yotality shops in the Rochester, Buffalo and Fredonia areas, says the frozen yogurt market is solid, and a shakeout is to be expected.

"It (the frozen yogurt market) got overbuilt very quickly," he said. "Some operators are better capitalized and are in better shape than others. That's just the way it works."

TRACYS@Gannett.com