'Bubbling' over with enthusiasm for Twisted

You can thank Grace Wang’s daughter and the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Railroad for Twisted Frozen Yogurt coming to Main Street.

On her trips to Manhattan, Grace’s daughter took the train from Port Washington, which it just so happens is across the street from 76 Main Street. When Grace Wang, who was looking for a third location for her Twisted Yogurt Shops, saw a “Vacancy” sign in the window, she jumped at the opportunity. “I signed the lease right away,” she said. “I knew this was a great location.”

That was April 2010. Eleven months later, following renovations (the storefront was a former Dry Cleaners) and waiting for permits, Twisted Frozen Yogurt opened on March 11.

Being in the heart of Port Washington, across from the train station, and a short distance from the schools, figures to be a sweet spot for this enterprise. “Business is very good,” Wang said. “It’s a good location and it’s good yogurt, which is very important.”

Wang is adamant about using the freshest ingredients for her products. She doesn’t use tap water, she uses spring water, for example; and every step along the quality-control process, Wang insists on using only the finest, freshest ingredients. “I want them coming back,” she said.

The yogurt is self-serve. Customers take a cup, choose a flavor, and pull the lever. Prices are 54 cents per ounce with toppings. If you just want the toppings, and some people do, it is 65 cents an ounce.

What isn’t self-serve are the Smoothies and the Bubble tea, which people rave about. A hugely popular drink in Taiwan and other Asian countries, Bubble tea, or Boba, can be made at home. However, preparing the tapioca pearls can be quite labor intensive, especially since the tapioca pearls must be consumed immediately to maintain freshness and not lose their gummy texture.

The better alternative is to come here, for drinking Bubble tea is both a delicious and fun experience. The drinks are served in large see-through plastic containers with an extra-wide straw to sip the jumbo tapioca pearls, which tend to stay near the bottom of the glass. Just sucking on the translucent straw creates a show, with pearls floating up. 

The Bubble tea is $4 with the tapioca, $3.50 without. Flavors include lychee, mango, honey peach, taro, coconut, papaya, green tea, black tea and strawberry. Smoothie flavors featured here include Mocha Frappe and Green Tea Frappe for $4.75.

For Wang, it’s all about quality food and a great experience. “We make it comfortable for people, whether you want to eat for $2 or $10,” she said. “We work hard to keep the service up and to be nice to customers.”

As customers, mostly students, continued to stream into her yogurt shop after school, Wang suggested there might be a reason why business is good, even on a chilly March afternoon. “There is no place like this near here,” she said.

Twisted Frozen Yogurt is open seven days a week, including 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on weekends.