The upscale yogurt stop, Berry Chill, might be looking to open a Milwaukee-area location of its self-coined "yogurt couture" stores.
And since the greater Downtown area, at least in my humble opinion, has rather slim pickings when it comes to yogurt and ice cream; I think it would be a great fit. Plus, I've heard really good things about Berry Chill's Chicago location. The store has some good buzz, so I thought I'd check it out and drop them a line.
I suggest that you also e-mail the company and ask them to come to Milwaukee. Why not? Can't hurt. I did it, although I'm weird this way, I guess. If I see or hear about a cool store or concept, I just call or write the company and tell them to come to Milwaukee.
In this case, guess what? The CEO called me. And, even though he wouldn't spill the beans on his company's exact expansion plans, he did talk to me for a while about Berry Chill's concept and its unique product.
In March, Berry Chill opened its first Chicago-area location on State State, one block from the Magnificent Mile. The funky design of this all-natural yogurt bar includes a self-order kiosk, plasma-screen menus, a mosaic-tiled yogurt bar and indoor / outdoor seating. Five other Chicago locations also are in the works.
Berry Chill founder and CEO, Michael (Mikey) Farah, grew up in North Chicago. He's a Cubs fan, but I told him that I wouldn't let that tarnish my desire to have his store in Milwaukee.
"We're focusing on major Midwestern cities as well as a few international destinations that we are in talks with. There's no city that this doesn't work in. We just have to decide where we go first (after Chicago)," said Farah.
"Because our product is so unique (it's all lactose-free), we have to actually bring our technology with us. It's very labor intensive," he added.
Berry Chill was developed with the help of Dr. Mitchell S. Kaplan, a gastroenterologist. Its yogurt bar offers a daily menu of plain chilled yogurt and rotating flavors made with all-natural ingredients that include pomegranate, green tea and "chilled" hot chocolate. More than a dozen fresh-fruit toppings also are available, such as lychee, papaya and star fruit, and more than 30 dry toppings include milk and honey granola, mochi and several cereal brands.
In fact, as I talked to Farah, he and his team were working on flavors for the fall and winter. "Pumpkin pie, banana walnut bread and ginger bread ... a little more seasonal, with the health benefits of yogurt," he said when I asked for a fall forecast.
Need another reason to want a Berry Chill? When you sign up for Berry Chill's Culture Club program, you get a membership card that remembers your purchases and every time you use it, the company donates three percent of each sale to your choice of one of its partner charities.
Farah promised to keep me updated. I promised to eat plenty of yogurt if he opens in Milwaukee. Stay tuned.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
