Yo-Chi: Frozen yoghurt social media sensation coming to northern beaches
Frozen yoghurt devotees are in for a sweet treat with a Tik Tok-famous shopfront – with fans queuing out the doors – set to open yet another Sydney store. See where
Manly
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A popular food retailer, which is developing an almost cult-like customer following thanks to social media, has leased premises in the heart of Manly.
Yo-Chi, the Melbourne-based “self-serve” frozen yoghurt chain, is set to open its doors on The Corso.
It has lodged a development application to fit out the former Tree of Life clothing store in a heritage-listed 19th century shop just down from Humphreys newsagency.
It already has outlets in Sydney at Surry Hills, Newtown, Lane Cove and Macquarie Park as well as in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia.
But video posts on social media platform Tik Tok have taken customer craziness to a new level, with people happy to queue at the Surry Hills store, which opened two years ago, for up to 20 minutes to get their favourite sweet treats.
In response to increased line times and major crowds, Yo-Chi had to introduce a new queuing system and staff to maintain a “safe and enjoyable space for everybody”.
“We have added an extra team member to focus on line control and have removed outdoor furniture to accommodate these lines,” a spokeswoman said in April.
The business was started in Melbourne in 2012 by a trio of business entrepreneurs before it was bought by celebrity TV chef and restaurateur George Calombaris in 2018.
Calombaris sold the business in 2020 when he got into some financial difficulty.
It was bought by a company called Embrace The Chi Pty Ltd, whose shareholders are brothers Oliver and Riley Allis.
They are the sons of the sons of Janine Allis, the founder of the hugely popular Boost Juice business.
Embrace The Chi Pty Ltd lodged a DA with Northern Beaches Council in July for $415,000 in alterations and additions to the shop on The Corso.
The DA was referred, by the council, to the independent Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel because some minor demolition work would need to be done to the heritage-listed building.
DA documents show that the establishment would have on-site “banquette” style seating with a maximum capacity of up to 20 patrons and primarily focus on serving “artisan takeaway and self-serve frozen yoghurt food to walk-in customers”.
Hours of operation will be from 9am to 11pm, seven days a week with six staff working a any one time.
The panel was meeting on Wednesday to discuss the alterations, which the council recommended should go ahead.
A decision is expected this week.
Yo-Chi, which is looking for staff or the Manly outlet, has been contacted for comment.
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