Frozen yogurt fans will soon have another option to satisfy their sweet tooth, as international froyo company Tutti Frutti is scheduled to open a downtown Evanston location.

The store, 809 Davis St., will fill the space previously occupied by Red Mango, which closed earlier this year. Tutti Frutti’s Evanston location owner Robert Chong said the store will host a soft opening April 22, before it has its grand opening April 25.

Chong, who owns two other Tutti Frutti locations in the Chicago area, said Evanston was an obvious choice for where to open next.

“It’s a vibrant city,” Chong said. “Tutti Frutti is the largest yogurt franchise in the world, and I chose Evanston because there’s only one yogurt shop in the city. We need one more. The main reason I chose Evanston is because it’s alive. It’s got a combination of students and other people who live around the area.”

Tutti Frutti, a self-serve frozen yogurt business, has hundreds of independently-owned stores on six continents. The company focuses on providing healthy yogurt and dessert options.

Although frozen dessert stores already exist in downtown Evanston, Chong said he is not worried about the competition.

“I will have many more toppings,” Chong said. “We’re going to have about 40 to 50 different toppings … (and) the store will be the cleanest.”

Competitors are certainly taking note. Forever Yogurt employee Raymond Lee said he is anticipating Tutti Frutti’s opening.

“I checked it out and walked by the other day, and it’s kind of worrisome because apparently they’re a big chain and very popular,” Lee said. “But Red Mango used to be there, and it was a similar deal … it’s kind of similar in that it’s just being replaced by a different name, but it’s still self-serve froyo.”

Lee said he hopes Forever Yogurt’s location, which is closer to Northwestern’s campus, will give it the edge.

Chong said the customer experience will set Tutti Frutti apart.

“With any business, I think it’s a common denominator that you listen to your customers and you treat them well,” Chong said. “That’s a common line of how to succeed in business.”

Chong said he hopes to reach out to NU students with a discount.

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