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| - Taking a cue from the competition down the street and around the corner, TCBY comes back to the market with a serve-your-own format that guarantees you are only as hungry as your wallet and secures bigger sales for this chain. There are some high points here, but a number of detractors as well.
When you first walk in the door you are greeted with the (not so) obligatory (but grossly optional) hand sanitizing station and a choice of 2 cup sizes that rank as large and grossly huge in my book. This is adjacent to the wall of fro yo, which is a point winner. Not only do you have the regular flavors you came to love at TCBY (peanut butter and cheesecake), but you also have a few tart yogurt options (again a nod to the competition) and even a sorbet that, while I applaud the non-dairy option, was a little off due to the ice crystals and consistency- not a pleasing mouth feel, especially compared to the smoothie goodness swirling around it.
The other high point here is the plethora of toppings options that line the rest of the path towards the cash register. TCBY easily outdoes their competition here just in terms of diversity and number of options. Gummy worms, candy pieces, hot toppings... yeah it's all here. So are the healthier and more natural fruit toppings. Still, it's easy to see which category is pushed here. Whereas PInkberry and Yoforia try and go semi-healthy- TCBY just proudly dumps a vat of hot caramel on their heads.
The rest of the store is seating and it feels like a futuristic candy drop. A spartan white interior with clear plastic molded chairs in all colors of the rainbow. It's almost garish and off-putting.
But hey, I'm not their target market, as a stop by on a recent Friday night taught me. Apparently this joint is all the rage with the tween set in the Myers Park and Southpark areas. I thought I had gotten caught up in an 8th grade field trip. The store staff did not seem to mind, but they know their customer base.
For me, I'm more likely to get it to go next time.
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