Dining news: Frozen yogurt coming to Gay Street

In "news of things we wish were here already because it's way too hot": a frozen yogurt shop is opening on Gay Street this month. 39 Below FroYo, the brainchild of Short North resident Carolyn Maloney,will offer 8 self-serve flavors at a time from its Downtown storefront at 39 E. Gay St., including two with no sugar added and one lactose-free and vegan option. That dog up there? That's us, salivating at the idea in this frozen-dairy-deprived part of town adjacent to our office.

Most of her flavors will be kosher and all the yogurts will include probiotics to aid with digestion. The yogurts will mostly be 99 percent fat-free. And she's planning a few more gourmet flavor options, like strawberry-basil and peanut butter-sriracha.

Maloney is a self-professed dessert addict, and the idea to open her own shop and leave her job with an e-learning company came to her while waiting in line at Jeni's in the Short North. So she took a part-time job at a frozen yogurt shop to learn more about how to make her store a success.

"My passions are people, health and fitness, and dessert, so this was perfect," she says.

Though she's not yet ready to disclose her partnerships, Maloney says her toppings bar will include some locally produced fruits and granola among the fro-yo standbys of candy and cereal.

"I want to give the shop a very adult feel, since it's in an urban environment," she says. "A lot of the frozen yogurt places feel like they target teens, and that's not what I'm going for."

Over the weekend, the framework for the frozen yogurt machines and toppings bars were built, and Maloney said late last week that she's in the process of picking out her paint colors and adding some decorative touches.

Barring any issues, the store should be open in the next few weeks. You'll know when it's open--our phones will be ringing off the hook, while we sneak away for a little sunshine and something cold and sweet.

Got some restaurant news to serve up? Tell me. E-mail me at cschedler@dispatch.com or tweet it to me @cschedle.