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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
R Street welcomes Top This frozen yogurt
by Casey Kirk, published on May 18, 2009 at 1:52 PM
Storyline: Downtown Developments
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R Street can thank Philippe Masoud and Derar Zawaydeh for contributing to the new blast of life that has been pumped into it in recent days. After successfully opening Burgers and Brew on the corridor, the business partners opened frozen yogurt spot Top This late last week.
The pair are also the owners of Sacramento's Crepeville and the first Burgers and Brew in Davis, widely popular among the area's college students. They have been behind similar eat-and-drink places in San Francisco as well but have sold them to members of their family.
The two businesses are right next door to each other, which Masoud explains is an advantage. There is a walkway between the two space, and if needed when business picks up, the owners can knock down a wall so that customers can walk directly over to the yogurt place after dining at Burgers and Brew.
The shop has around 100 toppings to choose from and will switch out specialty flavors of yogurt every couple of weeks, with traditional flavors such as vanilla and chocolate always staying the same.
They are focused on using quality creams, fresh fruits and the best sorbets. Unlike many frozen yogurt places that pile on the candy toppings, Top This will offers healthy choices that can be snacked on at anytime of the day, not just for dessert.
There is an hand-painted ice cream mural as a backdrop to the shop and Masoud has plans to eventually showcase works from Sacramento and Davis artists, on a reular basis and for the Second Saturday Art Walk.
When asked about the business surrounding the yogurt and burger eateries, Masoud said that all of the places compliment each other. "The more restaurants in an area the better it is for everyone...the strip can become a destination," he explained.
However, while the yogurt shop is in a prime destination with new developments popping up on a monthly basis, Masoud hopes that the city will take notice of the lack of parking. Employees have to constantly move their cars from one two-hour spot to another, and parking places for customers are few. One way to help this, he says, is for people to take the lightrail or ride their bikes.
The next few months will determine the shop's hours, but for the first couple of months doors will stay open from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Masoud said that business at Burgers and Brew has been excellent, especially on the weekends, since opening at the beginning of April. With customers coming from all areas of downtown, the yogurt shop is likely share in that success as well.
Photos were taken by David Watts Barton and are of the patio area in front of Burgers and Brew and Top This and co-owner Phillipe Masoud
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They certainly picked the right time of year to open a frozen yogurt shop!
Regarding parking: Sacramentans will have to grow up about parking at some point soon. Parking right in front of your destination is not a right.
There is quite a bit of parking in that neighborhood, where I've lived since 2004. I frequent several places in that area at all times of day and night and have never walked more than - wait for it - TWO BLOCKS to get where I'm going.
In NYC or SF, I walk five or ten (or twenty) times that, and don't even think about it.
Think about it.
As quoted in the article, the business owner seems to have assumed it was the city's responsibility to find him parking, but it isn't. There are some unregulated parking areas nearby but they are usually filled with other commuters' cars during the day. So he can either work out a deal with someone nearby who has a parking lot and lease some spaces from them, or find other alternatives.
Providing monthly RT passes to his employees might be cheaper, and would promote transit use: RT has a program to provide bus passes to employees of businesses willing to subsidize the cost.
In the long run, there should be a lot more residential in the central city, hopefully with a reasonable proportion affordable enough for someone who works at a yogurt shop. That will cut down on the need to drive to work even more.
If employees commute to work and don't have the choice to ride a bike or take the light rail then hopefully they are able to find parking within a few blocks at least. Yet another option is loading a bike into their car and biking from a certain point downtown.
It also seems kind of ridiculous that people have to drive in from the suburbs to work a minimum-wage job at a frozen yogurt shop. That's why we need more housing, especially affordable housing, in the city--so people can walk to work, or skip having a car entirely. Someone working a $50K/year state job can afford to spend $100+ a month on a parking lot, but that's tough for someone making $8/hour.