I’ve always known what my dream jobs would be, and in light of an interview I had last week, I may have stumbled on a dream job I had never considered before. A job where I would get paid to eat sweet, scrumptious food, participate in experiments where there is no such thing as a bad outcome, and not get fat from it?
Sign. Me. Up.
At Kiwi Loco, these are a few of the many perks that would come from working there. Be forewarned, Kiwi Loco: you might be receiving an employment application from me that specifies I am only willing to work one hour a week while expecting to receive the job perks daily.
A Frozen Community
Located on Hitt Road in the strip mall across the street from Kohl’s, Kiwi Loco is a family-owned business that opened their first store in Twin Falls in 2010.
“My parents opened up the first location in Twin Falls, and I helped launch that,” notes Justin Turley, co-owner of the Idaho Falls location. As the success of the Twin Falls store grew, Turley—along with sister Angela and brother-in-law Justin Heider— decided to launch another location in Idaho Falls. “We teamed up and made it happen,” says Turley.
Why Idaho Falls? Idaho isn’t exactly known for their year-round warmth (especially since Idaho Falls recently made No.28 on the list for being one of the top coldest cities in America). “When we looked, there were no self-serve shops,” Turley shared. “It was never a question of where we wanted to go—people here are nice and there is a good population.”
Giving Back
Since Kiwi Loco is a family business and not a franchise, the owners have made it a priority to give back to the community “because that’s where we started,” says Turley. “The benefit of a family-owned business is that the money stays in the community.”
Kiwi Loco can be seen selling frozen yogurt once a week at schools, catering at weddings and attending events like craft and bridal fairs. In addition to having a community presence that is mobile to any location, Kiwi Loco offers fundraising opportunities for schools to receive a gross percentage of their sales during a designated time.
Ingredients
One thing that sets Kiwi Loco apart is that they use real yogurt in their ingredients.
They rotate their flavors a bit, but always carry vanilla (made with real vanilla beans), chocolate, a Euro-tart and cake batter. “The euro-tart flavors…either you love or hate it,” Turley shares. “We also have no-sugar added, non-fat, non-dairy, and sorbet varieties.”
Turley has invented his own flavors which include Brownie Batter and Chocolate Banana. In all there is a rotation of 120 flavors and more than 75 toppings to choose from.
Food for the Soul
More than just a frozen yogurt shop, Turley and his associates share some of their personal experiences with the community since opening the shop. “We had a facebook post from someone telling us they had lost over 60 pounds. They had Kiwi Loco for their treat and nothing else for their “fix,” Turley says. “We have one mother who brings her boy in all the time because the little boy has trouble tasting things, and he is so happy to come here because he can actually taste our yogurts.
“We are a magical shop,” he adds. “We solve problems and are on our way to solving world hunger,” Turley says with a wink. For more information on Kiwi Loco’s flavors and locations, visit www.kiwilocoyogurt.com.
Kiwi Loco
3198 S. Hitt Rd., Idaho Falls
538-0814
HOURS: Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fri.–Sat.– 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.