Saturday, July 9, 2011

Elements is Coming Soon!!!!


For those of you who haven't heard, John recently resigned from his job as regional director for Samaritan's purse to join up w/his longtime friend Bryan Reynolds in starting their own business(es).   Elements (frozen yogurt) is their first project in downtown Puyallup....and they're already planning on opening more in the future.  We're so excited that John won't have to travel so much, and I've heard Emery telling her little friends "My daddy makes ice cream, you want to go eat my daddy's  ice cream?".  Pretty cute... we are all very proud.  

John and Bryan have been friends for a long time, and I love their family.  They have 2 boys (Jaxon and Asher) and one on the way (secret name, but I'm going to steal it if they don't use it).  Emery has 3 future husbands to choose from.  I'd met Bryan's wife Alicia once or twice through the years and about a month after we moved here her friend had to back out of a  road trip to Cali last second.  John was at a basketball game w/Bryan when it happened, and John told Alicia to ask me to go.  Thinking I would think she was crazy, she called and I decided why not.  So instead of having a park playdate be our first hangout, we took a full day roadtrip to Cali, spent a week together at her aunts, and then another full day car drive back to WA. What could have turned out really awkward made us instant great friends, and provided us w/great memories (and great tans)!

Emery feeding her foot to Jaxon during the drive.
Me and Alicia at a fantastic winery...drinking some liquid sunshine.  (Pre-pregnancy for both of us I have to add).

And now a year later....

Emery and Jaxon prancing around the almost finished store...most likely to some Bieber tunes.

Emery partaking of her first Elements froyo.  She only had about 4 more of these today. They're yogurt so they're healthy right?  Although the store's not open yet, they passed out free samples today and there was a constant line out front.  I tried some of the red bull froyo...it was amazing! 

  

They've also made it into the paper!



Frozen yogurt comes ‘full circle’

New business opening in city hall building along North Meridian has garnered a following of loyal fans, all excited to support two local Rogers High School graduates with a dream

TOP PHOTO

John Quick, left, and Bryan Reynolds are excited for the opening day of their new frozen yogurt store, which they hope to expand to a national market.
Andrew Fickes/Herald photo   
John Quick, left, and Bryan Reynolds are excited for the opening day of their new frozen yogurt store, which they hope to expand to a national market.

MORE PHOTOS


Published: 07/07/1110:20 am | Updated: 07/07/1110:20 am

Success has never tasted so sweet for two local Puyallup business owners, Bryan Reynolds and John Quick.

On Saturday, July 9, the two entrepreneurs will open their new business, Elements Frozen Yogurt — a decade after their desire to open a coffee shop in downtown Puyallup fizzled. The business will be the newest tenant on the ground floor level of Puyallup City Hall.

“We’ve come full circle,” Reynolds said.

While seniors at Rogers High School in 2001, Reynolds and Quick aspired to open up a coffee shop in Puyallup. Although both men worked hard, their lack of experience left the project unfinished.

In 2007, Reynolds and his parents tried again — buying into the Forza Coffee Company chain. Their store is located along Pioneer Avenue.

“It’s been the school of hard knocks,” Reynolds said. “You don’t clock out at the end of the day.”

Reynolds referred to his experience with Forza as “a great platform to learn business.”

His vision for Elements took shape when he made a trip to California in 2010. At a frozen yogurt shop, he discovered he could pick and choose different “elements” to top the yogurt and create his own delicious treat.

“Literally, five minutes later I went back and did it again,” Reynolds said of his “fro-yo” visit. “I was hooked.”

Encouraged by Forza’s success, Elements Frozen Yogurt was put into motion. Elements is the first store in what Reynolds and Quick plan to turn into a franchise. Reynolds is the chief executive officer and Quick is the chief operations officer. Quick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and is pursuing a Masters of Business Administration.

The two business partners plan to open their store on or near every college campus in the country. But first, they wanted to open their first shop in their hometown.

“We’d love to see 100 stores in 20 years,” Quick said.

“We wanted a brand that anybody can identify with,” Reynolds said. “We try to be current. We like to bring excitement and fun.”

Quick added that Elements brings a “new vibe” to downtown Puyallup.

“(Elements will) bring excellence to the frozen yogurt world,” Quick said.

Reynolds hopes Elements will become a clean, sleek hangout for Puyallup residents. It will include everything from brownies to strawberries as element options — not toppings, which Reynolds said is for pizza.

According to Reynolds and Quick, Elements is the only shop offering Red Bull frozen yogurt. Along with its array of fro-yo elements, the store will also sell frozen bananas, oatmeal and Red Bull energy drinks.

Reynolds expects to turn a profit “immediately,” most especially because Elements is the only frozen yogurt shop in the area.

“Is that too much to expect?” Reynolds jokingly asked.

Puyallup’s potential frozen yogurt customers have already made an appearance through social media.

“We have close to 400 people who ‘liked’ us on Facebook,” Quick said.

One part of a marketing campaign is “Hide and Seek Week,” which is being pushed leading up to the store’s debut. Social media intern, Jimmy Bailey, placed coupons for free frozen yogurt around Puyallup and took photos of where they could be found. The photos were posted on Elements’ Facebook page for residents to find and present on opening day. The person who collects the most coupons will win a prize, in addition to free frozen yogurt. Bailey refuses to divulge what the winner of the contest will receive, describing  it only as “a most legit prize.”

According to Quick, parents have called him and Reynolds, asking if their kids could camp outside the store to be first in line.

“People are believing in this product already,” Reynolds said. 


1 comment:

  1. That's awesome. I'm glad your husband will be around more. I can't wait to go to Elements!

    ReplyDelete