Head to Walnut Creek these days and you’ll see a proliferation of new dessert shops that have opened for business in the last few months. Easy Breezy brings frozen yogurt and custard made with dietary restrictions in mind, Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea offers fruit teas and boba, and Chip brings late-night cookies to the community.
Here’s what to know about the new dessert, snack and beverage offerings.
Easy Breezy
This frozen yogurt, custard and vegan soft-serve shop opened in Walnut Creek about two months ago, serving up a selection of flavors, plus gluten-free, vegan, high-protein and nonfat options, according to owner Ari Ford, who also has locations in San Francisco, Corte Madera and Los Gatos.
“We make everything from scratch every day,” she says.
The brand draws inspiration from the way that Midwestern shake shacks have long served as community gathering spaces, especially for kids, who often visit after school, soccer games or violin lessons, she says.
A recent menu highlighted flavors like Busta Limes, made with coconut milk and fresh squeezed limes; Hella Nutella, made with frozen yogurt plus “gobs of Nutella”; and Mucho Matcha, made with custard and matcha powder.
Flavors are updated biweekly and posted on Instagram.
Details: Open at 1 p.m. Monday-Thursday, noon Friday, and 11 a.m. weekends at 1387 N. Main St. in Walnut Creek; easy-breezy.com/.
Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea
Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea in Walnut Creek offers a variety of tea drinks, from brown sugar boba beverages to mango slushy drinks. (Courtesy Terence Huang)
This tea shop on Locust Street opened in late March and offers a wide selection of tea-based drinks, including boba, fruit teas and smoothies. Specialties include Taiwanese fruit teas, brown sugar pearl lattes and its signature Yi Fang fruit tea, made with a blend of passionfruit and pineapple. And there are options for people with dietary restrictions including several plant-based milk substitutes.
The chain is expanding quickly around the Bay Area and now has locations in San Francisco, San Mateo, Mountain View, Colma, West San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont, Berkeley and Alameda, with a new location coming soon to Livermore.
Details: Open noon to 8 p.m. daily at 1349 Locust St. in Walnut Creek; yifangteausa.com.
Chip Cookies
Leading the Bay Area expansion of the Chip Cookie franchise are Brandy Snider and Marley Allen, who launched their Walnut Creek location June 1. (Courtesy Athena Galgiani)
Legend has it that Utah-based Chip Cookies first began as a plan to satisfy the late-night cookie cravings of a pregnant woman. Owner Sarah Wilson was frustrated she couldn’t find any place that delivered cookies at night, so she and husband Sean decided to create their own destination for late-night cookie cravings.
Co-franchisees launching the brand’s Bay Area debut are Brandy Snider and Marley Allen, who’s married to Snider’s cousin. They opened their first location in Walnut Creek on June 1 and expect to open their next in Brentwood in August.
The brand specializes in cookie classics, such as chocolate chip cookies, sugar and Biscoff cookies, plus a flavor of the week. Recent flavors have included snickerdoodle and lemon, according to Snider. The brand also offers a “Better Than Sex” cookie flavor with cocoa, caramel and sweetened condensed milk topped with whipped topping, caramel and toffee.
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In addition, they offer a cookie bar so visitors can add their own drizzles, frosting or ice cream to top their cookies, Snider says.
Deliveries are facilitated through the Ubereats and Doordash platforms, she adds. They also sell cookie dough ready to bake at home.
Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, until midnight Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday at 2335 Oak Grove Road in Walnut Creek; chipcookies.co.
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