Just days after Toppings Yogurt announced that it will open a store on Via de la Paz this fall, a competitor says that it will follow suit on Swarthmore Avenue, below Sunset. The Yogurt Shoppe is coming to 873 Swarthmore in space currently comprising about half of Black Ink, the stationery and gift store owned by Patti Black. ‘I’m thrilled,’ said Black on Tuesday. ‘I’ve been looking for a tenant since December.’ Black moved to her Swarthmore location in December 2003, and expanded into the space next door when the hair salon Atocha closed in 2005. Wrestling with a tough retail economy, she decided to downsize back to her original storefront. She had two other applications for the space, but chose the frozen yogurt store because she feels it will ‘draw a lot of activity to the street.’ The wall between the stores that was taken down when Black expanded will go back up today, necessitating Black’s closing for three days during the construction. She will reopen on Monday. Black’s new tenants, Kevin Sabin and Clive Lewis, said their store may not open until October because of the length of time it takes to receive city permits. The men want to open sooner, but they have been told that the earliest they can get a city health permit is anywhere from four to six weeks, and they can’t apply for a building permit until the health-permit approval comes. After a dearth of new stores opening in the Palisades, two frozen-yogurt stores should be open by the end of the year, just a block apart. Toppings will be located at 872 Via de la Paz, in the former Chefmakers space. ‘I grew up in Brooklyn and there was always a neighborhood hangout,’ said Sabin, an executive vice president with KW Commercial who lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife Jennifer and their three children, who attend Canyon School. ‘I’d like to create that same kind of place here.’ Lewis, who grew up in Leeds, England, and came to the United States via Cape Town, South Africa, has a frozen-yogurt shop in Newport Beach. He lives in Woodland Hills with his 10-year-old son and says he looks forward to the drive over Topanga Canyon to the Palisades every day. The two men met a year ago while on a kayaking trip off Catalina Island. ‘I was opening the store in Newport at the time,’ Lewis said. ‘We discussed it [frozen-yogurt stores] while kayaking for two days.’ Sabin sold Lewis on the idea of opening a store in the Palisades. The two men looked at possible locations, but while waiting to inspect a vacant store in the Village, Lewis walked into Black Ink and struck up a conversation with Black. After inspecting the first site, he and Sabin elected to opt for a location nearer the Village Green. ‘Our concept is about quality,’ Sabin said. ‘We also want to give back to the community and be part of the neighborhood, support local schools, churches and temples. Our goal is to be a fixture of the community and to be here for a long time.’ The owners plan to have 40 to 50 toppings and five yogurt machines, with two flavors at each machine. Standard flavors like vanilla and chocolate will always be available, but Sabin and Lewis plan to rotate flavors from a choice of 70, so that customers will always have something new to try. Lewis said they plan to employ local residents. To apply, call (818) 383-1010. The men will also offer store promotions on Facebook.
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