Great Neck’s newest hot spot is serving it ice cold.
Frozen yogurt lounge 32 degree froyo was set to celebrate its grand opening Thursday, June 30 at 1:30 p.m. with an all-day red carpet event that included free yogurt, a D.J., clowns, face painting, balloons and prizes.
On a rainy Friday before the official debut, froyo is already packed with young mothers entertaining the kids and the business set enjoying their lunch hour. They settle singly and in groups on futuristic chairs and leather couches. The youngest patrons bounce to the latest pop hits.
“It’s become a chilling place,” said owner Sunil Mirpuri. “That’s what I wanted. Great Neck needed a place like this.”
Muripuri does not think small. Great Neck is a launching pad for what he hopes will be a chain of yogurt stores in the New York-New Jersey area.
“Our goal is to open five stores,” he said.
He said 32 degree froyo offers a cool, refreshing meal. So far, the peninsula seems to agree. Froyo sold 1,000 cups the first day, an impressive feat topped only by second day sales.
Customers will find 12 kinds of frozen yogurt on tap at the Village of Great Neck Plaza restaurant at 27b Great Neck Road. Always available flavors include standard favorites like chocolate and vanilla, and the less expected cake batter and cheesecake. The indecisive will find free samples by request.
With a catalogue of 50 flavors to choose from, regular customers can expect to see new flavors rotated in regularly. Due to high demand, the newest flavor will be sugar free.
For the calorie conscious, interactive screens located above each machine list the nutritional value of each flavor. A scale is available on the counter.
In the future, happy birthday wishes and community announcements will be featured on screen.
“What you will probably see as this business matures is whatever happens with 32 froyo on Facebook will happen on the screen,” he said.
Frozen yogurt, parfait, fruit bowls, and more than 40 toppings are available for purchase by the ounce. Every yogurt and more than a dozen toppings are kosher, with certificates available for inspection.
“We have had a number of customers ask for the certification already,” he said.
Fruit is delivered fresh and prepared daily. Yogurt is pre-flavored and probiotic.
Although you will not find Coke or Pepsi for sale, a selection of healthy drinks includes Vitamin Water and Honest Tea.
But 32 degree froyo is really the project of Milpuri’s wife.
Karishma has a master’s degree in commerce and undergraduate degree in interior design, which she used to decorate 32 degree froyo. She came up with the idea for a frozen yogurt lounge as a way to keep busy. Their oldest daughter recently started college at New York University, while their youngest is starting high school next year.
The Murpuris came to the United States 17 years ago when their oldest daughter was a toddler. Born in India and raised in Bancock, Thailand, Muripuri comes from a large family that is spread out across the Far East.
“When we have a family marriage, we have 200 people with just us,” he said.
Milpuri came to this country with empty pockets, living in Queens with his young family. The couple’s first job was at a deli for owners who became like family. Upon retirement, the owners sold the deli “at a giveaway price.”
“Everything we have was really a gift from this country to us,” Muripuri said. “There is a God up there. They put us on the road to success.”
Though he only finished a couple of years of college in Thailand, Milpuri built an online electronics business, which he has since sold, and a manufacturing business that supplies plastic ware to corporations like Jet Blue and Universal Studios. He also is co-owner of a company in the health-care business.
“Risk taking in America has always paid off for us,” he said. “There is no end to making money in America.Just look.”
