TCBY shop closing; owner cites pandemic
TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. » The TCBY frozen yogurt shop on Morton Boulevard is closing after more than three decades in business.
John Bassett, who owns the shop with his wife, Trish, said Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hurt many small businesses, is the reason for the closing and that a sign posted in the shop’s front window stands as his message to customers.
“Without your support the last 31 years, we would not have continued to exist,” the sign reads. “... We are humbled, grateful and full of gratitude — the appreciation we have is off the charts! Trusting us and having our backs for 31 years, it feels incredible!”
The sign says the shop, at 1090 Morton Blvd., will close “sometime in the middle of October.” Bassett said an exact date has not been decided.
This TCBY shop in Ulster opened in 1989 as a franchise of the TCBY (The Country’s Best Yogurt) national chain of frozen yogurt stores. One of the largest U. S. retailers of softserve frozen yogurt, TCBY had as many as 1,800 locations in 2001, soon after it was acquired by Mrs. Fields Famous Brands. But according to Moneywise, a personal finance publication, there were only 360 TCBY franchises left as of six months ago, shortly after the pandemic began.
The Bassetts expanded the Ulster shop over the years, adding homemade soups, baked goods and a coffee bar, turning the store, officially, into TCBY/Coffee Beanery/Soup & Such.
“When one door closes, another one will open — It’s time for us to look for the new open door! It was an awesome ride!” the window sign reads. “It’s time to say goodbye and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.”
Bassett said he and his wife have not decided what to do next.