Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Atlanta Sours on Red Mango, FroYo Fad Ending?

Red Mango has closed its last Atlanta location.

The frozen yogurt and smoothie shop closed their location at North Decatur Center at the intersection of North Decatur and Clairmont Roads last week.

Dallas, Texas-based Red Mango, an international froyo chain, entered the market (via a local franchisee) in 2010.  The first location opened in Dunwoody in September followed by Emory / Decatur in December.   A third was slated for Howell Mill Village near Howell Mill and Collier Roads, but given troubles the existing stores were experiencing, those plans were abandoned.  (Chipotle Mexican Grill opened in the space last year)

Despite being Zagat rated as the #1 smoothie / frozen yogurt, the chain failed to gain momentum or a consistent following in Atlanta.  The Decatur location was definitely the better performing of the two, and was fairly popular among Emory students.  Emory, of course, is not quite back in session for all students, and clearly Red Mango could no longer wait for their arrival.

I'm not quite sure how they were left off my most recent DeathWatch in March, but they definitely should have been on it.  On that note, Pinkberry, which had been on the list, will likely be removed, as they seem to have finally carved out a niche and gained a following.

Red Mango's local facebook page is already wiped from existence and they are also gone from the Red Mango website.  A sign posted on the door reads :

"We are closed!"
"Please contact fatfreellc@gmail.com if you are interested in this location" 

Given the issues that Red Mango has had, would someone really want to reopen this location as the sign seems to suggest?

Encino, California-based Menchies has closed a number of shops in Atlanta as well, among them, locations in Buckhead and Johns Creek.

Atlanta-based Yoforia has also struggled as of late with closures in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Perimeter Mall, Alpharetta and Kennesaw, among others.

Texas-based Swirll exited the market entirely having closed their three locations in Buckhead, Brookhaven and Dunwoody.

Even Yogurtland closed one of their three area locations and has steadily raised their prices, a tactic often instituted when there is a decrease in competition.

Downtown Decatur is home to homegrown favorite The Yogurt Tap, but more recently has seen Froyolo and Swirlin' Twirlin' around downtown Decatur and the square.

I've covered FroYo extensively on this blog in the past.  To check out one of the best prior posts, click here.

Where do you go for froyo?  What should open in place of Red Mango?  Is the FroYo fad out cold or just taking a breather?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Market was too saturated.

I still love Menchie's and Yogli Mogli. Toppings are key.

Anonymous said...

Compared to all the other FroYo options in that area, Red Mango just paled in comparison. Their product wasn't as good and their store was in an awkward location, I thought. It was definitely more of a destination versus somewhere you just decided to go on a whim while you were out walking around.

TheJohnP said...

Not sure if you mentioned this or not but the TCBY in Loehmann's Plaza has finally shut their doors. That one lasted quite awhile considering.

Atlantan99 said...

@TheJohnP,

Yes, covered that closure back in February! I too was amazed it lasted as long as it had. Was a favorite growing up but failed to keep up with changing tastes & preferences.

Thanks for the comments and readership.

Anonymous said...

How the TCBY at the Fountain Oaks shopping centr in Sandy Springs is still in business is a mystery to me. It's awful. We need more real ice cream shops around town.

Anonymous said...

Atlantan99, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned anything about the OfficeMax in Loehmann's Plaza closing. It's only about 1.7 miles from the Office Depot location at Toco Hill. With the two companies merging (what will the new name be?), there will surely be many other closings of "overlapping" locations.

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon,

It's funny you mention this. I've had a draft in the works since about the time the merger was announced! I figured the Office Max was more likely to close than the Office Depot and sure enough, here we are. I'm working to confirm what will replace the store at Loehmann's and hope to have that and a new post, soon.

As for a new name, good question. Maybe both for a while a la AirTran / Southwest.

Thanks for the comments and for your readership.

Debbie D said...

Yogurt Tap in City of Decatur.

Unknown said...

Red Mango was my favorite! So sad to see it go. Best yogurt in town...

gilliemae said...

I'm bummed about the loss of red mango. I could care less about all the other frozen yogurt. They had a non-dairy chocolate option and probiotics proven to sustain the freezing process. Their locations did suck though, too bad.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...