As One Location is Torn Down, the Other Picks Up Speed

Noticed the lines getting longer at ? If so, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you.

The Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt location in Willow Glen, San Jose closed its doors Nov. 18, diverting hungry customers to the Campbell location.

“We, would say a 35-40 percent increase in revenue and customer flow since,” Jeff Mullen, owner of Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt says. “We have a lot of people coming to the Campbell store, more than what we had last year.”

Demolition crews knocked down the original location, opened in 2002 in an abandoned drive up photo stand, the morning of Nov. 29. A small group of onlookers watched from the sidewalk, tears pushing forward and voices catching.

The long-time establishment had built a strong and loyal following in the last three years, so much so that Mullen decided on opening the Campbell location in July 2010.

"We did very well (at the Willow Glen location) and people would ask, 'Why don’t you open a store in downtown Campbell?'" he says.

Mullen lived on the Campbell and San Jose border so knew the area very well. The second store celebrated its one year anniversary this summer.

"I am excited about Campbell because it is up and coming," he says.

But this change has its challenges and Mullen is concerned about the fiscal impact.

"I am concerned because now we are down to one store that doesn’t do the business that Willow Glen did and winter is here," he says. "We have to get through the winter time and build out a new store in Willow Glen. We’ll get through it, but it will be a challenge."

The Willow Glen location was demo’ed to make room for a $20 million dollar project consisting of retail and dining. It is scheduled to reopen at the front of the new building, tentatively in the next three months.