Customers choose the shop's flavors, toppings and how much they want

By Brian Ward

Hampton Beachcomber, June 13, 2013

[The following article is courtesy of the Hampton Beachcomber and Seacoast Online.]

Hampton Beach’s first self-serve fro-yo shop! Come visit them at:
143 Ashworth St., Hampton Beach, NH
(Across from Wally’s Pub & Christy’s Pizza).

 AMPTON BEACH — The first frozen yogurt shop at Hampton Beach, the Berry Breeze, is still going strong since opening in August 2012. The store is the first of its kind at Hampton and gives beachgoers a variety of options for their frozen treats.

Owners Sueann Yin Rasavong and her brother Lee Yin said they got the idea for the shop after seeing the frozen yogurt craze take off. Realizing that Hampton Beach didn't have a frozen yogurt shop, they decided open one themselves.

"It's good to see the customers come in and show appreciation for the place," Sueann said.

Sueann said that they wanted the store to be a hip fro-yo shop with a touch of a nautical theme, with customers coming in and feeling like they're sitting out at the beach.

"We wanted to go for a nice clean, relaxed atmosphere," Sueann said. "Our main goal is to have our customers feel like they're at home."

Sueann said they wanted to make sure their customers had options and in that spirit they made the Berry Breeze a self serve store, where customers make their own frozen yogurt treats. Sueann said that she had always felt pressured when she went into an employee-served frozen yogurt shops and that she didn't want that for her customers.

"We felt that was better to allow you to take your time, make anything, and put how much of what you want on something," Sueann said.

Sueann say customers have a huge influence on the shop's flavors and toppings. The Berry Breeze has few main flavors that don't change such as chocolate and vanilla, with flavors that rotate, such as California Tart and Espresso, based on customer opinion.

"Right now we just are talking to customers," Sueann said, "'Hey what do you prefer?', 'Is there a topping you want but don't see?'"

Sueann says they're planning on putting up a board with flavors and toppings that people can vote on but for now simply talking with customers has worked well. Sueann said that last week they had decided to take vanilla off the menu and after listening to customers decided to bring it back. Sueann says that business has been picking up since Memorial Day and that they've just been trying to get their name out there.

"We had a group of 6 kids that came in with their parents saying 'this place is awesome!' Rasavon said. "Seeing the excitement on the faces of kids and our customers, it's a good feeling."

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