Sweet Frog lands in Midway

Just when it seemed there wasn't room for another ice cream shop at the beach, Sweet Frog owner Dean Carpenter opened his frozen yogurt store in Midway, hitting the ground running, or more appropriately, hopping.

"It has been mind-boggling," Carpenter said, less than two weeks after the May 11 opening. "People are really enjoying coming in and the choices that they have here."

He said the clientele comes in for a bowl of any of his 16 varieties of self-serve, soft-serve frozen yogurt, and their reasons are as varied as the yogurt.

For some, it's the health benefits of probiotics in yogurt combined with the allure of a sweet treat.

Sweet frog offers nonfat and low-fat frozen yogurts as well as flavors with no added sugar for clients with diabetes, and Carpentter said many customers like the reduced-calorie options.

Sweet Frog also offers nondairy, lactose-free yogurt and is sensitive to other dietary restrictions, such as gluten and nut allergies, maintaining strict standards and labeling potential allergens, all of which attracts different clients who may not go to other area ice cream shops because of severe allergies.

For Jenny Shapiro, these aspects are enough to make her a devotee. Shapiro said in the past, she has struggled to entertain weekend visitors with dietary restrictions and still show them a good time at the beach.

"This is great; this is a game-changer," she said. "This is a first."

Rehoboth resident Jamie Shea has already made several visits to Sweet Frog. She lives near Midway and said the location is a big selling point for her, among other aspects of the business.

“I love it. I like the bright colors; it’s close to my house, and it’s a Christian organization,” Shea said. “And their yogurt is really good.”

Customers can get any combination of frozen yogurt flavors, from cake batter to a variety of chocolate options, along with more seasonal blends including eggnog around the holidays.

After that, there is a 20-foot toppings bar that includes wet and dry nuts, 10 different syrups, fresh fruits, Oreos, candies and virtually any other confection a person could dream up, Carpenter said.

"On a busy day in the summer, we will go through 50 pounds of fresh strawberries," he said.

Carpenter said community involvement is also a big part of the business model at Sweet Frog, a chain that began nearly four years ago in the Virginia area and has already expanded to almost 300 shops nationwide.

With a staff made up largely of tech-savvy high-school students, the owner said the employees who work there have fun at the new-age fro-yo shack that hosts a variety of fundraisers and offers incentives such as loyalty rewards cards.

"The kids that work for us love to work for us," Carpenter said. "We use iPads for cash registers. What kids these days don't know their way around an iPad? We have 75-second transactions."

Unlike traditional ice cream shops, customers don't have to choose a sundae off a prescribed menu, nor do they pay depending on cup size.

Each sundae is weighed to determine the price: more in the sundae equals more out of the pocketbook.

For more information go to www.facebook.com/SweetFrogRehobothBeach or call 302-703-6990. Sweet Frog opens at 12 p.m. daily.