Southport Magazine

By Patty Langer

What’s better on a hot summer day than a bowl of frozen yogurt and a glass of wine?!  You read me right – I said frozen yogurt and wine!  That’s what they’re serving at Southport’s coolest new venue, Southport Suzie’s, located on Long Beach Road in the plaza with Big Lots and Label Shopper.   I must admit, I thought the combination seemed a bit perplexing at first, but after meeting with the shop’s delightful owners, Suzanne and Fred Street, I realized it makes total sense!

Okay, let’s start with the obvious question.  What made you decide to combine a frozen yogurt shop with a wine shop?

Fred: Simple – they’re two of our favorite things!  

Suzanne:  Moms understand!  There’s no explanation needed for them.  We’ve created a place where they can hang out with their friends, enjoying a glass of pinot grigio, while the kids are entertained eating frozen yogurt sundaes and playing games.  We have Connect Four games on every table, as well as coloring and other activities to keep the kids busy.

That’s brilliant!  I wish my kids were younger.  How did you come up with the idea; were you in the food business previously?

Fred:  No. I owned a construction company in Raleigh and Suzanne worked for the government.   We moved here twelve years ago when she retired.  We wanted to get away from the traffic.

Suzanne:  We were looking for a coastal town to retire to, and I saw an article about Southport in Southern Living Magazine.  We decided to check it out on the way home from a business trip and that was that.  Fred had been thinking about a frozen yogurt shop, but when we got here, someone else had already opened one and we didn’t think the area could support a second.  That shop closed a few years ago and the timing was right for us now.

Fred:  We needed something fun to do in retirement, besides golf. There are a lot of ice cream shops in the area, but frozen yogurt is a healthy alternative.  We wanted to create a place that was fun for the whole family, so we added the wine.

Family is obviously important to both of you.  Tell us about yours.  For starters, I’d love to know how you two met.

Fred:  We were both single parents working in Raleigh during the early 1990s.  We met when our kids played t-ball together.

Suzanne:  We were married two months later!  It will be 31 years in July.  We now have young grandchildren who live in Florida and we hope to see them here soon.  For now, we’re enjoying everyone else’s grands in the shop!  

Fred:  It’s great to see how excited the kids get when they realize they can make their own sundaes.  

Is it all self-service?

Fred:  The yogurt, yes, not the wine!  We have five yogurt machines, each with two flavors.  The middle handle swirls the flavors together.  We rotate our flavors once a week, and we always have two sorbets that are non-dairy and a sugar free option.

People fill their own bowls with yogurt, then head to the topping counters where they can pick from traditional toppings like sprinkles, candy and whipped cream, or chose healthier options like fresh fruit and nuts.  Then they place their bowl on the scale and we charge by weight (the bowl is excluded.)

What are your most popular frozen yogurt flavors and toppings?

Suzanne:  Vanilla!  Fresh strawberries and whipped cream are probably the most popular toppings.  Boba balls are very popular right now; we rotate flavors like strawberry, kiwi and mango.  Gummies and anything chocolate are always a big hit too.

Fred:  Cookie Monster is another popular yogurt flavor with the kids.  We have some neat flavor combinations that are really popular too.  You can mix orange sorbet with vanilla yogurt to get a creamsicle, or lime sorbet with California Tart yogurt to get key lime pie.  

Sounds yummy!  Do you tend to have more of a fro-yo crowd or a wine tasting crowd?

Suzanne:  Right now, more people are coming in for the frozen yogurt.  We opened with that in April and the wine came a few weeks later.  Our location leads a lot of kids to us.  There is a karate school, a dance studio, and a music school in this plaza, so kids come in after their lessons.  We also seem to be a place that works well for home school groups and clubs to meet, or sports teams to go after a game.  We are available to book for private parties too.  We recently hosted a music recital!  (While I was interviewing the Streets, a large group of young girls came in the shop with their moms for a book club meeting.)

Fred:  We think the live music will start to draw people in for the wine. It’s also a great place to stop by after golf or tennis or pickle ball.  We have craft beer, ciders and spritzers if you are not a wine drinker.  We have charcuterie boards and other light snacks and desserts to go with the drinks.  

Suzanne:  We have live music on Saturday evenings and Blue Tulip will be here on Friday, July 7^th. The adults really seem to enjoy the music and the kids love to dance.  Our shop is big, so if the music gets too loud for some people, they can move toward the back or head outside to our covered patio space.  It used to be a bank drive through!

Ever think of doing a wine and fro-yo pairing? (Don’t laugh!  I once attended a pairing of wine and Easter candy – it was awesome!)

Suzanne:  Actually, yes!  We have wine tastings every Wednesday night, and we will recommend certain yogurt flavors that complement the wines, or sorbet flavors with prosecco (they are great mixed together!) We also do wine and dessert pairings.

That sounds amazing!  You certainly have a lot going on here!  Any other plans in the pipeline?

Suzanne:  We are going to start offering frozen yogurt cakes soon.  We also have pre-packed frozen yogurt pints in our freezers that people can purchase to take home. 

Fred:  We’re also going to start serving coffee cabernets!

Southport Suzie’s is a big, bright, cheerful shop.  It’s a great place to head when you need a break from the heat and humidity, or on a rainy day when the kids are restless.  The frozen yogurt is awesome and kids have a blast piling on their own toppings.   Wine is available by the glass or bottle, with tastings every Wednesday evening, and the craft beer selection is impressive.  Charcuterie boards and other light snacks are available to purchase, along with coffee and desserts from Side Street Bakery. 

The shop is located 4956 Old Long Beach Road (the Big Lots Plaza) and open daily from 1-8 pm.  To see a list of current fro-yo flavors, or a schedule of live events, check out Southport Suzie’s on Facebook or call (910-363-4188.)