When one thinks of ice cream, feelings of nostalgia usually come to mind immediately. Whether the weather was sunlit or gloomy, the scent of the mixtures of flavor creations brought an excitement to you.

One presses their 6-year-old face onto the chilled glass, the only barrier preventing them from diving into the ice cream. They insist on trying cake batter, mint chocolate chip, rocky road and bubblegum with a mini pink plastic spoon, then agonize over which delicious flavor to decide on.

This is the memory of the generation of current Staples students and older, but it might not end up being the same for the 6-year-olds of today.  They will daydream of pushing down on cold, metal handles, waiting for the smooth frozen yogurt to swirl its way into the cup. Then onto the next station, where any candy they could ever think of is waiting to be scooped and generously poured atop the yogurt mountain.

With Baskin Robbins and Ben and Jerry’s recently closing up, and the addition of three new frozen yogurt stores- Top This, Pinkberry, and 16 Handles- it is evident that there is a yogurt domination taking place.

“People are more conscientious about health these days, and frozen yogurt is low or non fat and is full of probiotics,” said Sara, an employee at Pinkberry who would not disclose her last name. Certainly America is trying to eat healthier, but there is one more crucial reason for the frozen dessert revolution.

“People are all about doing it ‘your way.’ They like that it’s their concoction, that they can put a ton of sprinkles or just a little. And quite frankly, it’s just fun,” said the owner of 16 Handles in Fairfield, Erik Mallon.

With the customer serving themself, some find it difficult to practice self control. “Once someone’s frozen yogurt cost almost 12 dollars. It was huge,” said Allie Gazerro, employee of Top This.

The trend towards frozen yogurt is rapidly growing, as all three of these newly opened stores are franchises from all over. “Pinkberry started all the way out in California, and it’s already spread to here. Who knows where it’s going next?” Sara said.

Though frozen yogurt stores have grown to be contagious throughout the Northeast, many believe that ice cream will never be overcome. “It’s true that frozen yogurt is growing rapidly, but ice cream will always exist. Everyone loves ice cream. It’s a staple,” said Liz, an employee at Sunny Daes who also did not disclose her last name.

The future for ice cream and frozen yogurt is still a mystery, but hopefully the chant “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” will never fade away.

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