For months after Rockpoint Books on Broad Street closed their doors, I speculated what new shop or eatery would replace the quiet, local bookstore. Knowing my hopes for a downtown grocery store would not be fulfilled in this location, my curiosity turned to other possibilities for something new and exciting.
Visiting the new occupant of this location during the madness of Riverbend, I was pleasantly surprised to find that “Top It Off,” offering fantastically frozen yogurt, had moved in. I was not sure what was going to be so fantastic about this frozen yogurt, or indeed what would set it apart from the string of other frozen yogurt shops cropping up around town. I found that my hint was in the store’s namesake: the toppings. No matter what type of frozen yogurt one ends up trying at Top It Off, there’s a topping to perfectly accentuate your flavor choice.
By visiting the wall of toppings, you find that there are more than 50 to choose from. There are at least five different kinds of cereal: Captain Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Loops, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. At the cold topping station there are fruits like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, cherries and raspberries alongside the cheesecake bits, cookie dough pieces and fudge topping. There are candy toppings like nerds, Reese’s cups, Oreo crumbles and others. And then there are toppings that have no category, like the Pop Tart crumbles and the graham cracker topping. Before you select what to coat your yogurt in, there has to be a choice of yogurt. Top It Off has this covered with 10 selections of yogurt that can also be mixed together to make even more combinations. Many of these flavors come in non-fat, low-fat, or sugar-free varieties as well.
A typical offering of yogurt flavors includes: cookies and cream, birthday cake, New York cheesecake, wild strawberry, old fashioned peanut butter, dreamy dark chocolate, red velvet cupcake, Tahitian vanilla, pink lemonade sorbet, and blueberry tart. Several of these flavors are rotated every two weeks, so there is always something new to try.
Frozen yogurt is the perfect alternative to ice cream for those who are lactose intolerant or are watching their calories. Even though frozen yogurt is a dairy product, the bacteria in it breaks down lactose contained in milk, which makes it tolerable for those who are lactose intolerant. It also makes it tasty enough for those who love frozen treats.
The owners of this new business are Tyler Forrest and Zach Smith, a pair of young entrepreneurs. Forrest says he and his business partner have been searching for a business venture for several years now. After going in a number of soft-serve frozen yogurt shops throughout the Southeast, they decided frozen yogurt was the business venture they wanted to pursue. He says they knew they could easily sell a product that they really enjoyed and frozen yogurt was their obvious choice.
“We would like the community to recognize us as serving the most fantastically frozen yogurt in Chattanooga,” Forrest says. “Furthermore, we are proud of our local roots and our local concept. We hope the community will recognize us as a local business that is proud to be a member of this community and proud to support local events and causes.”
Although very focused on making a great success of their first store right now, Forrest says, in the future they are definitely interested in expanding to other communities with corporate stores and franchises.
Top It Off is off to a great start in making themselves a beloved community staple. Even though they have been open less than a month, they already have customers who have completely filled their loyal customer punch card, where 10 purchases of frozen yogurt from Top It Off results in a free frozen yogurt under $5. Top It Off weighs the yogurt and toppings their customers choose so customers can get as little or much as they want, with the cost reflecting their choices. My yogurt choice of New York cheesecake and wild strawberry with real strawberries and sprinkles on top came out to under $3, and was more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. The yogurt choices were unique and delicious by themselves, but adding the fresh, large pieces of cut strawberries into the mix made for a very satisfying dessert choice.
Top It Off is also open late – until 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It also seems that there is still space beside Top It Off for another business to move in alongside. Any guesses on who our new downtown neighbor will be?
Email Erica Tuggle at reporter@hamiltoncountyherald.com.