Fro-Yo Franchise Red Mango Opens in Ridgewood

It took and nearly two years, but the Bloom family has finally opened frozen yogurt franchise operation Red Mango – and they're promising villagers the best fro-yo around, all with a neighborly touch.

The franchise, founded by Dan Kim in 2007 and now in 170 locations nationally, touts itself as serving dairy-based frozen yogurt with high-quality flavors (think Ghiradelli chocolate or PomWonderful) infused with freshly-cut fruit and dozens of other toppings.

Patriarch Elliot Bloom, an avid marathon runner, was out in California and happened to stop in a Red Mango by chance. Immediately, he was hooked.

"I came back from the counter saying, 'Wow, this is the best frozen yogurt I've ever tried," he recalled. Soon enough, Bloom, a food industry veteran with Pepsi Co., was opening a store in Montclair. A short time later, he signed a lease at 43 E. Ridgewood Ave., the former site of Quiznos in Ridgewood.

"When we say all natural, we mean all natural," he commented, pointing to product line, which includes flavors like cake batter, white peach, Madagascar vanilla, Honey Badger, among others. There is also a "classics" line (more closely resembling ice cream), smoothies, and yogurts/parfaits. On the horizon the franchise will be offering dairy-free frozen yogurt as well as products with no-sugar added, Bloom said. The weighted price is $0.49 per ounce.

Red Mango's long and challenging journey into Ridgewood has been well chronicled. Falling in love with the town, the Bloom family in fall of 2010 snatched up the vacant Quiznos spot. But village law had other ideas. With (colloquially known as the 'fast food ordinance') in place, he was shut down. Appeal after appeal failed, though his rent check continued to be cashed.

Bloom's fortunes changed in late 2011 when the and the council . With Thursday afternoon's opening, Bloom says the growing is alive and well.

"We saw Ridgewood being a similar market to Montclair and thought we'd be successful here," he said, adding that the store has about 15 employees, many from Ridgewood. "All the elements are in place."

Since the conquering of the code, the family finds it's . Not by a long shot.

a few months ago. Crave, a mere few doors down, will be emerging soon. And there are rumors of a Tasti D-Lite popping up on Chestnut Street. All four are within a block of one another.

But competition isn't a bad thing, Bloom says.

"We always have great respect for the competition. I welcome it; it's a way for us to differentiate ourselves from others. A competitor makes you better and it gives the customer the choice to try other products and decide what they want."

Elliot Bloom's son, 25-year-old MBA grad Andrew who runs the day-to-day operations, also has no concerns of a potential yogurt squeeze.

"It's the best," the co-owner said of the Red Mango products. "It's Zagat rated ... I've tried them all [competitors] and truthfully, they give me stomach aches."

Red Mango Ridgewood says they have another edge.

Though they're cashing in on the fro-yo crave (Elliott matter-of-fact-ly claims profits are up 40 percent in Montclair), they say a strong bond with the community is just as important.

"We plan to give back to the community," Andrew remarked. "We want to prove we're not just here to make money."

The elder Bloom says they won't be fleeting, once-in-a-while givebacks, either. Red Mango Montclair donates portions of its proceeds on certain days to the high school. Ridgewood will be no different, he said.

"It's one thing as a sponsor to write a check as a one-off thing," Elliot said, adding they're among the sponsors of the upcoming 4th of July parade. "It's another to have a long-term relationship."

As a first gesture, Ridgewood High School graduating seniors on Friday will get a free frozen yogurt.

Red Mango is located at 43 East Ridgewood Ave and is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (201) 857-5151. Check them out on Facebook. Free wi-fi is also offered.

--

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor James Kleimann at James.Kleimann@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox every morning, sign up for our daily newsletter.