Business

How far would you go for fro-yo?

By: Emilee Youn

At the start of an hour of shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for a taste of yogurt she’d seen on TikTok, Maria Kadaba, 18, was the 57th customer in the line.

“I mainly came to visit the city because I wanted to try out Mimi’s,” the Californian said. “But, I’m also meeting a few friends who live here.” 

In mid-July, during her second trip to Mimi’s that Wednesday, she ordered tart-flavored yogurt in a bowl. She topped it with cookie dough, chocolate, sprinkles, coconut flakes and drizzles of hazelnut syrup.

Kadaba is one of the 26,000 Instagram followers of Mimi’s, which opened its first store in Soho in August 2025 and its second in Greenwich Village in March 2026. Part of the appeal is the  toppings, which also include mochi, dates and mixtures of olive oil and salt, which the French sprinkle on their ice cream. 

Plus, there’s the experience of sprinkling on your own toppings.

“Since I am allergic to both dairy and gluten, I like how sanitary Mimi’s is since it prevents me from consuming anything I am allergic to,” Rachel Nguyen, 26, said. 

Beads of sweat rolled down her face as she walked out of Mimi’s, past the waiting people, with melting yogurt dripping down her hand. “I live in the Upper East Side but I only come to Greenwich Village to go to Mimi’s since it’s the only place that I know that sells mochi as a topping. And it’s self-serve.” 

Strawberries, blueberries, mango and coconut flakes were also in the bowl of vanilla swirl she was holding.

Mimi’s isn’t the cheapest frozen yogurt, according to a 2025 Timeout New York article about the latest wave of local fro-yo stores. Most stores determine the prices based on how much the frozen treat weighs. While some of Mimi’s competitors, such as 16 Handles, charge between $0.60 to $0.90 per ounce, Mimi’s charges $1.20 per ounce. 

“It’s definitely inconvenient for me to stop by Mimi’s every day because it’s so out of the way from the hotel that I’m staying at… and it definitely drains my bank account. But I think it’s worth it,” Kadaba said.

As she and others waited outside the Greenwich Village location, near the intersection of University Place and 11th Street, a store worker asked customers to form two lines and avoid blocking the entrance to neighboring stores.

“I’m addicted,” Kadaba continued. “I just wish they had more locations because the lines are so long at any time and lower the prices too.” 

On their website, the founders said they intended for Mimi’s to be more than another grab-and-go business.

“I love how Mimi’s stuck to their mission statement,” NYU student Bella Park, 19, said. “Typically, Mimi’s gets very overcrowded and takes up the entire block, which gets annoying. But I always enjoy having coffee chats or hangouts at Mimi’s since they have large seating where we can just grab fro-yo and talk.”