The Taste That Launched 1,000 Parking Tickets - Los Angeles Times

The Taste That Launched 1,000 Parking Tickets - Los Angeles Times: "Before Pinkberry, there was a tattoo parlor and before that there was a medical marijuana distribution center and before that there was a garage. Then 2 1/2 years ago, Hyekyung Hwang (a.k.a. Shelly) signed a lease for the 600-square-foot space and decided to open an English Tea Room. The neighbors shook their heads, laughed and wished her luck. When she asked for outdoor seating, the neighbors voted it down. When she asked for a beer and wine license (so she could serve sherry), they voted that down too. Hwang crunched the numbers, and it didn't look good. She scrapped the idea and decided to open a frozen-yogurt store instead.

Hwang, the daughter of a factory owner in South Korea, came to America in 1992 for business school at USC. She is smart, quiet and tougher than she seems. Her business partner, Young Lee, a kick boxer turned architect, was once a bouncer for nightclubs before he started to design them.

Hwang understands that people want food that is healthy and low-calorie and that they will pay more money for it than you might think. Pinkberry yogurt is made with real milk and is about 20 calories per ounce, and a medium cup with three fresh fruit toppings (nothing comes from a can or is soaked in syrup) costs $4.95. What Lee knows is that a"

Funny to see rich neighbors fight so hard to save their neighborhood and get something like this in return!