FroYo Shop Owned by Two Windham Women Opens Its Door [VIDEO]

Laura Calamari says it's her daughter's fault that she's having the time of her life running her own frozen yogurt shop in a great location at a busy Hudson shopping plaza.

In fact, life is pretty sweet for the Windham mother of three, who has embarked on this venture along with her business partner, Desty Masucci, also from Windham and also a mother of three.

"Last summer the trend with the kids was driving long distances to get frozen yogurt. My daughter and I got to talking about how it would be a cool business to have," said Calamari, of her oldest daughter, Jamie.

"She did the research, and we started looking at franchises, but we weren't really that impressed. Then, my husband saw an ad for Sweet Kiwi in Methuen. We tried it out and that was pretty much it," said Calamari.

What she likes about the frozen yogurt chain was that she could become a licensed shop owner rather than a franchisee, which gave her the freedom to set up and decorate any way she wanted (as long as green was involved) and rename the shop, if she wanted to, although she chose to stick with Sweet Kiwi.

Although they initially were looking for a location in Londonderry, they went with the large space in the busy Nottingham Plaza off Lowell Road. But they are still looking for the right spot for a second store in Londonderry, Calamari said.

Frozen yogurt newbies will quickly get the hang of the self-service set up. To get started you choose a 16- or 20-ounce cup and get down to business. Yogurt is sold by the ounce, at 47 cents per ounce.

There are seven self-serve yogurt machines, each featuring two flavors with the option to "twist" them, creating a total of 21 flavor possibilities. The flavors change and are posted weekly on the Sweet Kiwi Facebook page.

After that, you can choose from an array of cold and dry toppings, from fresh or frozen fruits to candies, nuts, cookie crumbles and granola. You pay at the register by the ounce.

"It's about 100 calories per four-ounce serving and all the flavors are low fat," Calamari said.

After a successful grand opening on March 16, Calamari has been letting the frozen yogurt speak for itself – and so far so good. Customers are streaming in, drawn by the tangy taste and promise of a practically guilt-free treat.

"Everyone in the community has been so welcoming. I have people who, literally, have come in every day since we opened," said Calamari.

Her shop is spacious, with room for 24 seats and plenty of room to roam. Large TV screens are generally tuned to Disney Channel or sports, and a third screen plays a constant loop of Kids Only Music Choice, to solidify the family friendly atmosphere. And she's hired a great team of employees, including all three of her daughters – Jamie, Renee and Kristen – and her business partner's daughter, Ashley Masucci.

Sue Hall of Merrimack stopped in last week for the first time with her two boys, Garrett, 5 and Connor, 7, who were anxious to try out the machinery.

"A neighbor told me about it so we wanted to come in and check it out," said Hall overseeing the yogurt swirling process. After that, her boys were allowed to select toppings at will.

They went heavy on the gummy worms.

"Mmmm," said Garrett, holding his cup firmly in both hands while licking the swirl from the top of his yogurt.

Calamari said her employees decided against a tip jar by the register, opting instead to encourage customers to drop some coins into a "Change for a Cure" jar that will provide donations for various causes from month to month.

"I feel like it's more important that we do something for our community, and give back in some way," Calamari said.

Kayla Page of Hudson, 17, and Jordan Segool, 16, were chatting over their self-serve selections, which included various combinations of cheesecake and strawberry swirl yogurt with gummy worms, straberries, chocolate caramel cup minis, oreos and brownies.

"It's very colorful, and it's the place to be in Hudson," said Kayla.

Sweet Kiwi Frozen Yogurt is located at 142 Lowell Road in Hudson, at the Nottingham Plaza. Hours of operation are Mon - Thu: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Sun: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Phone number: (603) 204-5257.'

For more information on the shop, check out our preview, published earlier this month on Windham Patch.