The Fresh Cow MOOves Into East Lyme

Self-serve frozen yogurt is the latest trend and new stores have been popping up locally at a rapid pace. The newest of these new stops for healthful frozen treats is The Fresh Cow, which took over the space left vacant when Flanders Pizza closed at 325 Flanders Road in East Lyme. 

Store owners Justin and Nicole Krol of Old Lyme have completely transformed the pizza place with a blue and white coastal color scheme, a white tiled wall, and light fixtures made of pipes and mason jars. It's evocative of a dairy farm's milking room and the photos taken by Erin Reemsnyder of Tiffany Farm's cows further that theme. 

It's so well thought out and well-branded that you might assume this is another franchise store, but you'd be wrong. Every detail, from the logo to the "Get Fresh" t-shirts for sale, was created by the couple with help from their brother-in-law Troy Monroe, who handily does this sort of thing for a living as a designer at Studio Incognito in Wethersfield.

"It's not a franchise, this is all our design. Top to bottom, we refinished everything. We started in May, so we really got it up and running very quickly," said Nicole Krol. "It's family owned and operated. We decided on the name over a family dinner. We wanted to start a business and this is fairly easy to run and start up costs aren't so high." 

The couple did extensive research before starting the business, visiting Honey Hill Farms, the yogurt supplier's manufacturing plant to learn more about the five culture, 2 probiotic yogurt they decided to carry. Honey Hill Farms makes 140 different flavors which gives The Fresh Cow plenty to choose from. The store has 15 self-serve machines and will be swapping flavors out to keep things interesting. It's sold by weight, at 48 cents an ounce. 

The store has a "swirl fusion" machine so that people can opt to have the toppings they choose mixed into the yogurt to make a blizzard. The toppings include fresh fruit and Ghirardelli Syrup. The store also sells Izzie sparkling juices and, get this, chocolate covered crickets. They have three small children, so they wanted the store to have big kid appeal. 

"We liked the idea and the concept and of course our kids love it," said Nicole.

Nicole has a background in the restaurant business. Her husband Justin is an electrician. This is their first business venture and Nicole said she's expecting there will be a bit of a learning curve for both of them at first.

One of the things that took the couple by surprise was that Peachwave Frozen Yogurt was opening about half a mile down the road just a few weeks before they did. When they first started thinking about starting their business, there was nothing else like it in East Lyme. 

Is this town big enough for two frozen yogurt shops? As East Lyme is home to three ice cream shops all operating in downtown Niantic, there's ample evidence to suggest that East Lyme has a healthy appetite for frozen desserts. 

"We all opened at the same time," said Nicole. "It's a new trend but I think there's enough business to keep us all in friendly competition."  

The store had its grand opening last weekend but it will be celebrating with another opening bash this Sunday with radio station Q105. The Fresh Cow will be selling cups of yogurt for $1.05 and giving away tickets to Mystic Aquarium.

Going forward, Nicole said, she's hoping to have many more events tied to the season and the community, perhaps free hot fudge nights in the winter or special deals for East Lyme High School Viking fans on game nights. The store is starting off with a loyalty card program–buy nine yogurts and get a six ounce yogurt free. 

"We want to create a fun and delicious experience for everyone," said Nicole.