Wednesday, December 22, 2010

New in Oro Valley: Blue Banana Frozen Yogurt

Posted By on Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 3:30 PM

There really are blue bananas. Mike Brady, owner of the new Blue Banana Frozen Yogurt in Oro Valley, says they grow in only four places on earth, taste like vanilla ice cream and would be available at the store if he could get a case through customs.

One gets the feeling early on that frozen yogurt is to Brady what fried chicken was to Colonel Sanders. He’s a proud graduate of YoCream University - an educational workshop put on by frozen-yogurt distributor YoCream — and says he looked at more than 200 other frozen yogurt shops before settling on the theme and direction of the store he opened about a week ago.

“A lot of the company stores have a generic ice-cream-store look. They just have a very vanilla, boring look about them,” said Brady. “We wanted to do something different.”

While researching the name, Brady learned that the term “blue banana” also refers to a business and cultural district stretching from Northern England to Milan, Italy. This inspired him to go with a European feel for the interior, with hints referencing various locations within the “blue banana” district.

Brady says he serves all sorts of frozen yogurt and makes his own gelato from scratch. Current flavors include strawberry-champagne, bubble-gum, white-peppermint and orange-chocolate.

The store is located in Suite 121 of Oro Valley Marketplace, on the corner of Tangerine and Oracle roads. Hours: Noon to 9 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday; and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.

Call 820-4537 for more information.