It’s 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night, and Go Greek’s Beverly Hills location is packed. A security guard works the door, filing people into the yogurt shop that first opened over a decade ago. Inside, the line wraps around the room, and cups everywhere are filled with fluffy mounds of Greek yogurt crowned with fresh fruit, nuts, dark chocolate cacao nibs and other ingredients. Young people overflow onto the patio, chatting and sampling each others’ orders.
On any given night, the original location of Go Greek, a self-serve frozen Greek yogurt chain that has since expanded to 30 locations across the U.S. and as far as the Middle East, buzzes like a nightclub and is filled with mostly Gen Z patrons.
Before Go Greek, L.A.-founded frozen yogurt chains like Menchie’s and Pinkberry opened in the early 2000s and spread across the U.S. If you were a preteen or older during this time, you probably remember the “froyo” craze that took over shopping plazas, gas stations and the minds of sweet-toothed teenagers nationwide.
Now the popularity of frozen yogurt is rising again , with some people lining up for hours to get their hands on the dessert. But in Los Angeles, the birthplace of Go Greek, it is specifically frozen Greek yogurt that is leading the charge, particularly among Gen Z, with bowls that cost upward of $20 and boast high protein and low-calorie health benefits.
“When we first used to start coming here, we’d be able to sit inside and hang out. Now, I can’t really get a table,” said Josh Kuck, 35, who has been a regular Go Greek customer with his partner for the last few years. “We used to go out on the weekends, but now it’s like Gen Z is going to Go Greek.”
Kuck regularly sees a long line of people trailing out of the door on Friday nights, dressed in “going out” clothes, and sometimes even dancing.
The current frenzy is a far cry from when the brand first launched in 2012 as a sophisticated, health-conscious dessert shop inspired by the European heritage of founders David Subotic, Tanja Subotic and Johnathan Williams.
“We’ve grown super quick in the past two years,” said Julien Borbon, Go Greek’s director of strategy and growth. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020 — a period when self-serve frozen yogurt was virtually nonexistent — the chain has seen 20% to 30% growth in each of its locations per year, according to sales data provided by the company.
“My friend hyped up Go Greek to me before I moved to L.A.,” said Bili Lavine, a 22-year-old from Santa Barbara who visits the the Beverly Hills shop multiple times a week. “I had no idea that my life was about to be changed.”
“This was only my second time here, but I think it’s really expensive for yogurt,” said Riley Easton, a friend of Lavine. Go Greek’s frozen yogurt is priced at $1.35 per ounce, available in 16- and 24-ounce sizes, with toppings for 75 cents each and premium garnishes running $1.29 each.
Go Greek is also appealing to Gen Z with collaborative brand pop-ups, like a recent launch party for a new moisturizer from skin care brand Krave Beauty. The shop even added a limited-time Berrier Bounce smoothie to its menu to mirror the product.
“We’re like, that’s right up our alley,” said Mario Anthony, 25, who was introduced to Go Greek through the Krave Beauty pop-up. He brought his girlfriend along, who previously had only tried frozen Greek yogurt from Menchie’s. The store also had an on-site DJ and free typewriter poetry.
On Melrose Avenue, Frankie Greek Yogurt opened in August as a weekend pop-up inside the Olive and James coffee shop. Only one plain tart flavor is available, but toppings including fruit, granola, nuts, candy, syrups and cookies are plentiful. Similar to Go Greek, in early October the shop hosted a pop-up with limited-edition matcha and frozen yogurt options inspired by the new Disney series “Coven Academy.”
Sasha Solonin, co-owner of Nudes, a Mediterranean-inspired frozen Greek yogurt shop that opens in Beverly Grove on Oct. 8, said that frozen yogurt shops served as essential third spaces for him and co-owner Jason Afriat.
“When [coffee shops] would close, we would somehow always end up at a frozen yogurt shop,” he said.
They hope to bring that same energy to Nudes and to create a space “that gives you that feeling [you] could come as you are, be yourself, hang out, meet people and really feel like you are a part of a community.”
It was also important to Solonin and Afriat to make their yogurt fresh in-house instead of sourcing it from a third party. Prepared daily with whole milk, Greek yogurt and kaffir, Nudes’ product opts for toppings like pistachio and baklava crisp over sugary candy or sprinkles, Solonin said.
In July, journalist Rachel Kurzius wrote about the reignited fervor over frozen yogurt and how it also reflects the current state of diet culture. Previous spikes of popularity in the 1980s and 2010s overlapped with fad diets emphasizing low-fat and low-calorie foods, but the recent resurgence reflects viral trends like proteinmaxxing that prioritize meat, eggs and other protein-rich foods.
Today’s diet culture is also driven by GLP-1s, a medication that 10% of American adults are estimated to be currently taking for weight loss, according to a 2026 Gallup poll. Protein-rich foods are essential for those on GLP-1s who are trying to meet nutritional goals while preserving muscle and eating significantly less.
Greek yogurt goes through a straining process that doubles the amount of protein and decreases the amount of sugar compared to regular yogurt. It is also rich in probiotics that aid digestion.
“It’s a great way of getting a sweet treat without feeling guilty about it,” said Brandon, a 34-year-old Go Greek regular who works out often and keeps track of his diet.
In the grocery aisle, there is another frozen Greek yogurt option that has found fame on social media: the Yasso bar. Founded in 2011 and acquired by Unilever, which also owns Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Talenti, in 2023, each bar is between 35 to 170 calories, and is advertised as tasting like an ice cream bar without the extra sugar.
“My brother, who is a 20-year-old boy, loves [Yasso bars],” Easton said. “He regularly works out, and enjoys the bars for their added protein.” Tik Tok users are drawnto the bars for similar reasons.
Available at big-box stores nationwide, Yasso bars are a strong sign that L.A.’s Greek yogurt trend is just getting started.
“Right now we’re in this craze of froyo,” said Borbon of Go Greek. “Everyone’s wanting to be a part of that trend.”
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