Eco Yogurt Lounge (Boca Raton)
***** Eco Yogurt Lounge, 1200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
I guess when it rains it pours…on April 12, 2010– I told you guys about a “self serve” yogurt joint, Orange Leaf which had recently opened in Boca Raton. Real simple concept, get an empty cup, you-fill it with yogurt and toppings…cup gets weighed and you pay by the ounce. Well, low and behold, another “one” of these self-serve type joints, Eco Yogurt Lounge opened last week on Yamato Road in Boca Raton. Exact same concept, something like 12 flavors, toppings, cups, scale. According to its website www.ecoyogurtlounge.com this joint is owned and operated by 2-medical doctors.
Anyway…I really-only wish these two MDs well, but they really should stick to practicing medicine. Unlike Orange Leaf, Eco isn’t a franchise…and apparently these two folks designed this store all on their own…All I can say, WHAT A MESS. The joint is “all white” with white leather couches for seating–the yogurt machines are- stuck all the way in the back of the store…let’s put it this way, when you walk in the joint, it looks like an upscale martini bar that you would find in South Beach, not a yogurt-ice cream store.
I tried the vanilla-yogurt. Nothing special one way or the other.
Eco Yogurt is open 7 days a week 11am-11pm. Like I said before, I wish the owners well, but the store’s decor “to me” is an absolute turnoff-from the get-go.
The other day I stopped to pick up some donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts which is right next store to Eco. Didn’t go into Eco but looked at this new store through the window. You are so right, it looks like a bar and not a yogurt store. Very fancy looking with white art deco couchces. You are also right that you can’t see the yogurt machines because they are stuck in the back of the store. The place looks real silly. Based on location and the rent that the center probably gets, I think that the two docs are goiing to have get side jobs working in West Boca Hospital to carry this place.
I have been in the restaurant franchise business for over 35 years.
Over the years I have seen concepts come and go.
The self service yogurt concept has been around for a number of years and is now making its way into Florida. Just go out to LA and you will see loads of these type stores.
Last week I was in Orange Leaf. Decent enough product and the store has a basic and shall we say correct layout for this type of business. The location is just fair.
Last week I was also in Eco. The layout is a disater and the store is very poorly designed. The location is also fair. The yogurt is okay.
Between the two Orange Leaf is better in all departments.
This yogurt concept needs to be in a very high traffic area. Think near a college and you would be correct.
I LOVE ECO YOGURT ! I LOVE THE LAYOUT AND THE DESIGN. I GO THERE at least 4x per week. I tried orange leaf…. the coffee flavor doesnt compare to the Eco coffee……. It’s ECO for me and ECO to stay ! By the way this is now 2012 and they have quite a lot of traffic in this place ! I love all the white and the colors changing on the wave wall…… very soothing for me. I like all the white chairs too ! Go Eco !
Eco yogurt is located in south florida and totally gets the south florida/south beach vibe accross. i loveeeee the yogurt and the decoration of the place is AMAZING too! GREat service too! thye go above and beyond to make your experience heavenly…which is why i am there alll the time now. I went in once after stopping in another store close by and i am in loveeeee! honestly, best yogurt/hangout spot ever! especially in boca for all the kids, theres not much to do for teenagers or people under 21 so this new joint is probably exactly what the kids need to stay out of trouble! love love love this place! i give it 14 out of 10 rating! THEYRE THAT GOOD!!
ECO YOGURT IS AMAZING!
GO TRY IT!!!
IM IN LOVE WITH IT!
<3 eco yogurt fanatic <3
I think the place looks very cool. not like your average yogurt shop for sure but a great place to hang out and enjoy the yogurt. maybe too hip for the regular folk who aren’t into the decor.
Ate at Ale House a few stores down from Eco. Eco looks DUMB. It looks like a bar and not a yogurt place. You can’t even see the yogurt machines from the front window. You can’t even tell what this place is.
Jeff —
Wanna know what my favorite part of your website is? After you criticize a place, it amuses me how the owners and/or stakeholders try to counteract your opinions with their obviously false, effusive comments. I ‘loveeeee’ how they try to write like their target market illiterate customer, how they ape Tweeting style e-mails, how they try to impress that you’re just not hip enough to understand their world-class concept.
Eco’s located in Boca, yet ‘totally gets the . . . south beach vibe.’ WOW. Eco’s ‘too hip for the regular folk.’ Double WOW!
I think I’ll head off to DQ — they’ve got a sale on Blizzards.
looks like they don’t need your business anyway.
Get some plain yogurt and cut some bananas into it. Drizzle with old fashioned black strap molasses. More delicious than what you find in fly by night froz yogurt shops
I was there for the first time a few days ago, this place is way to “gimmicky” for east boca. The location is modest to say the least, there is no foot traffic in that plaza and they opened right when all the snow birds go back home?
The layout is the worst, I know they are trying to be moden, but there was a paper sign in front of the register with small prices, and a cheesy “OPEN” sign in the window with wires hanging out. They also serve ZERO drinks or milkshakes, umm it’s florida!
The machines are tucked way in the back and when I walked in I had no clue what to do or where to go, Boca is in need of some cool little places like this, but they have it all wrong. The “lounge” is a joke with the changing color wall really obnoxious.
I can go on and on what is wrong with the place and hope it lasts more than a year if that, but i really don’t see any success. Boca is a breed of its own and until you get that in your head you are catering to a few summer tourist, I’d much rather go to Sloans or Jamb juice any day of the week.
a good concept done all wrong.
ain’t goning to last very long.
I think the place looks very cool. not like your average yogurt shop for sure but a great place to hang out and enjoy the yogurt. maybe too hip for the regular folk who aren’t into the decor.
Fortunately, the place IS located right across the street from a college. Both the yogurt lounge and the college (which moved there from another location) have been there for about a month.
Give it some time and faith and it will probably pick up. I visited it yesterday and found the yogurt to be cheap and delicious. Personally I liked the decor.. clearly a place for younger audiences. The ambiance was a bit awkward, but they are still new, everyone has to start somewhere! I don’t see how people can compare a small new business to large franchises.
was there this evening. very busy at 8 pm. yogurt is good.
I have been to Eco Yogurt at least once a week since they opened and watched it grow busier and busier each time. There are a lot of families, college students and elderly people who enjoy lounging on those big comfortable leather chairs. The yogurt and fresh fruit toppings are so delicious. Perfectly clean all the time and right next to other fabulous restaurants like Quizno’s, Ale House, and Asian Five Spice so there is a lot of foot traffic. Movie theatre is nearby as well as the university. They are a Boca Raton hot spot already.
jeff, tried eco and i enjoyed it. the white couch look is kind of cool and different looking.
I tried the two new yogurt stores that recently opened in Boca Raton namely Orange Leaf and Eco. I thought that Orange was much better in the yogurt department and as for decor Eco looks silly to me.
Was in town visiting my husbands family and fell in love with this place. I really get a feeling for what “S. Florida” is all about and the yogurt is fresh. I did not mind paying the price because I knew I was getting the best ingredients as well as the variety of toppings being top notch. I wish I had a place like this to go to in Atlanta.
yogurt wasn’t half bad.
store layout stinks.
there are no signs so you have no idea what anything costs or is about.
the white couches are laughable.
My daughter and I stopped in after her last day of her freshman year and we both just loved it!And no I am not writing pretending to be a customer I am a bona fide customer. We plan to stop in when school goes back in the fall regularly! We really loved how friendly they were, VERY UN Boca like!
I was recommended to Eco Yogurt on friday…I love that they let you take small tastes to help decide. I enjioyed my frozen yogurt so much I’ve been back two more times since..and it’s only sunday. I’ve tried the pomogranite frozen yogurt with fresh rasberries,blueberries and boysenberries mashed in – outstanding. I also tried choc/vanilla/peanut butter…with sprinkles for more decadance. My pet peeves… is there is no nutritional info on the website yet. There is a book behind the counter that explains the flavors, but it is not posted. Also when it got crowded last night, there were two workers standing in everyone’s way..and the access to the machines is too narrow for that. The workers are very friendly and the place looks hip.
Lame. Don’t waste your money.
I work in the are and took a walk over to Eco today and was very impressed with the concept. The yogurt was delicious and the atmosphere was relaxing and classy. I took a small break from work and felt that Eco’s atmosphere was the remedy I was looking for.
The owners achieved their goal in providing the atmosphere they intended to provide. South beach already has this atmosphere everywhere you look so no it would not do better there. Too much competition.
If this business fails its not because of the concept, the yogurt or atmosphere, it would be because of lack of foot traffic of the intended target customer. lets face it Ale House customers are “special people” I would have to be starving to eat there.
fad.
over within 2 years,
Just got back from Eco. LOVED the yogurt and the lounge atmosphere. Definitely not your usual yogurt place. They could work on some more signage such as menus and more pictures of the product. I also do agree that the layout is extremely poor, but overall it was a good experience.
hey jeff your information is a little off because they keep updating there store every week, new flavors and new toppings, i go there almost every week and always am surprised about the new things they have and they are also getting new signs to show you how everything works. they open at 12pm everyday and close at midnight on the weekends, and 11pm weekdays, maybe you should get your facts straight before you judge a place as new and as popular as Eco Yogurt Lounge
Design and layout are not well done at all. Looks unfinished…
Their yogurt is by far better than Orange leaf: colder and tasty. Their california tart is a close #2 for Pink berry.
I think the 50 people that were in and outside of the store last night is a a sign of their longevity.
Bad design yes, great yogurt yes.
jeff, the joint was cranking last Saturday night. Loads of people. I ate in Ale House and then walked over for dessert with the wife and another couple.
I agree the couches look stupid but apparently they aren’t hurting business.
Hey Jeff,
I think you missed the call here. Delicious yogurt and those white leather couches are cooool!
definately missed the call. this place is hopping. the yogurt is the best around too. i’ve tried them all now. definately the best place to chill of all the new stores out there too.
I am an onterior designer and thought theplace looks great and fun with the changing colors on the wave white wall love the idea of preparing my food my way and it wAs clean and delicious thank god it’s not another boring dairy queen !!! Ps I don’t have any stake in the place just excellent taste !!
Ps the place was packed both times I went the rest of the negative people on this site need to open their minds to something new
My sister and I were at Eco last Saturday night around 8:30pm. It was very busy. It was also our first time. We both thought that the yogurt was very good. We also thought that the store is very poorly laid out. The signage is terrible. The furniture looks ridiculous. The help has absolutely no idea what they are doing.
So you got a good product with a disasterous presentation.
very poorly run store. lack of signage really is confusing.
yogurt is pretty good.
Dumb decor. Yogurt is good.
I like Yogurtland much better. But they are not in Boca where I live so until they get here I am stuck with ECO and Orange Leaf.
Eco’s something different. Granted it is not in a high traffic area but I like how they did something out of the ordinary for a yogurt shop. Unfortunately places like this don’t last long after the “it’s new we have to go” feeling dies out. I wish them the best of luck with the biz. They could use a website too (not just that one pager they have). Everyone needs a website.
i wish this place was open late night, because it’s my FAVORITE food for the munchies
just got back from Eco. had the cappucino flavor which was delish.
The decor looks great- those who criticize the decor are unable to appreciate something new and different. The employees were very pleasent and friendly. Yogurt and Toppings tasted really good!!!
white couch and chair decor looks ridiculous.
yogurt is very good,
Bet you a buck, that when the shakeout in this latest self serve yogurt fad comes, ECO will be one of the casualties. This one has okay yogurt, but the way it is built is all wrong. Throw in a relatively crappy location and my money says it won’t last for long. Hopefully the owners before the crash make back their investment.
The red velvet is great. Reminds me of Menchies. I would love to see some new original great flavors. Seams like everyone carries the same thing
what other good locations do you have in mind for self serve yogurt areas in south florida?
Please let me know asap
liked the curved wavey walls. yogurt is also real good.
Got to disagree with you, delicious yogurt. Have to agree with you, that decor, signage and setup are a total mess.
jeff, wrong on this one. excellent yogurt,
love this yogurt
orange leaf, tutti frutti, yogurtland, jus like jeff said, too many are opening. it’s going to be a huge bloodbath.
ok yogurt.
looks like a s beach bar.
i have tried a ton of these self serve yogurt stores, eco is the best of breed,.
This germ ridden place is one big micro-organism…kids fingers up their noses then they stick fingers up the yogurt dispenser…..I saw it myself….disgusting. Give me Yogurt Emporium or DQ any day!!
then….you have a tip jar at the cashier area….what????? A tip for what??? taking my money!!!! I served myself…you should be paying me!!!!!
And last….the girl handing out sample cups with her long fake nails holding the inside of my cup when she hands it to me……you all should be ashamed and the Health Dept would have a field day there!!!
^ this lady is stupid! haha no idea what she is talking about! ive been going there since the place opened last year. Great place to eat and friendly staff