A-Weigh We Go To The Yogurt Store

Unlike ice cream parlors where watch your sundae being created by some stranger behind a counter, at Weigh To Go, a new frozen yogurt shop located at 4887 Merrick Road, the staff is happy to sit back and let you do all the dirty work.

Co-owner Michael Banks, who just celebrated his store's grand opening, felt it was the right time to introduce Massapequa to the latest fad in (not so) decadent desserts.

“The self-serve frozen yogurt craze is pretty exciting right now...there are a bunch of stores opening up,” he said. “We want to be different by focusing on being a little more health conscious...100 percent natural juices in our smoothies, and most of our products are gluten free, fat free, low fat or low sugar.”

A wide variety of goodies is part of what Banks believes will have Massapequans with an incorrigible sweet tooth beating down his door.

“We carry more products that your average yogurt store,” he said. “In addition to the smoothies and yogurt, we also have muffins, gourmet cupcakes, cheesecakes, and more.”

For those of you not familiar with the lofty concept of self-serve yogurt, Banks is happy to explain.

“In the old way, you’d go into a TCBY and tell them what you want,” he said. “Here, you can pick your own size cup, you go to the machines, and create your own flavor combination. From there, you move over to the toppings bar, where we have over 33 different toppings. We sell it all by weight, not volume.”

Banks’ co-owner and sister, Merrick pediatrician Dr. Pamela Banks, said her daughter came up with the amusing pun that makes up their store’s name.

"My ten year-old and I were talking about in the car, and we were throwing around different phrases," she said. "She suggested 'Weigh To Go,' since it's such a positive, upbeat term. We loved it, so we went with it."

Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., R-Merrick, was on-hand for Weigh To Go’s grand opening.

"In this economy, when you see people taking the chance in opening a new business, I like to come down and support them," he said. "And I happen to know the owners as well, from my hometown...it's a great establishment and they did a wonderful job. Hopefully they're going to do well and be here for years to come."

Despite the backing such a prominent member of the community, Banks still managed to run into a few roadblocks courtesy of someone not even a politician could help with- Mother Nature.

“It’s Murphy’s Law, and you can just change my name to Murphy,” he said. “The day we got approved to open by Nassau County, we had an earthquake. Then when we scheduled our first grand opening, we had Hurricane Irene, and that pretty much put a squash on out big Saturday night. Then, when we finally did open, it rained for two days straight!”

However, now that the forecast is clear, Bank is eager start churning out the yogurt to kids.