Couple Brings Help ‘Yo’ Self Approach to Dessert Option

YumYos Premium

Frozen Yogurt

Owners: Jonathan and Kim McNeill

Address: 700 SE Walton Blvd., Ste. 4, Bentonville

Phone: 479-254-

9866

E-mail: yumyos@

hotmail.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Website: www.yumyos.com

Startup date: Sept. 24

The mood inside matches what the fun-sounding name suggests.

“A happy place,” co-owner Kim McNeill said when asked to described YumYos, which offers 21 flavors of self-serve frozen yogurt in a family-friendly setting.

McNeill and her husband, Jonathan, opened the business last month and already are contemplating expansion plans. Such, apparently, is the popularity of YumYos’ nonfat, low-fat and nondairy yogurt.

There’re also the 70-plus toppings.

“Everything from fresh fruit to Ghirardelli sauces,” Kim McNeill said.

The end product is sold by weight – 42 cents per ounce. Jonathan McNeill said most orders run about $3.50 to $4.

Manager Amy Higginbottom oversees eight employees, and the McNeills are fixtures at night and on weekends. Their total investment is unknown, but the McNeills purchased a $20,000 building permit for build-out purposes at the 1,850-SF space.

There is seating for 32 inside and three outdoor tables near the door. The shop is located at Fountain Plaza.

Both of the McNeills are in medical sales, but also shared a jones to start their own business. The result is YumYos, where the emphasis is on family fun, as evidenced by the lack of TVs or other potential distractions.

“I love seeing people smile,” Jonathan McNeill said, “seeing a family of four sitting here having a good night of uninterrupted family fun.”

Times Remain Tough

Despite Recession’s End

The National Bureau of Economic Research recently announced its determination the recession ended in June 2009.

More than a year later, many small-business owners might disagree. That notion is based on the following data:

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of seasonally adjusted self-employed workers in November 2007 was more than 9.2 million. In August 2010, that number dropped to less than 8.8 million.
• Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. reported more than 10 percent of job-seekers started their own businesses in the first quarter of 2007. During the second quarter of 2010, that number dipped below 4 percent.
• Less than 40 percent of small-business owners faced cash-flow problems in November 2007, according to Discover Small Business Watch. In August 2010, more than 50 percent reported problems.
• Less than 7,000 businesses filed for bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2007, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, but that number was more than 14,000 during the second quarter of 2010.