Like most men in Davis with a girlfriend or wife, I grew accustomed to dreading one particular store that used to exist in downtown Davis. Next to one of the slowest stoplights in the western hemisphere, the old clothing store at 113 E street caused boredom, my wallet to empty, then more boredom. That is, until Sept. 1, 2007. On this day, my entire outlook on this particular section of E street changed with the Grand Opening of the Yogurt Shack.

Dave Francis, co-owner and manager of the Davis Yogurt Shack (a.k.a. The Shack) is a Northern Californian. He attended Encina High School and Sacramento State before spending 10 years in the commercial printing industry. He worked for a print broker in the South Bay as a project coordinator before turning to something more laid back. His brother-in-law Ron, and sister Judy, started the Yogurt Shack chain in Danville then expanded to Concord. They were looking to expand to Sacramento, but after a fruitless location search they turned to Davis.

According to Dave, they struck gold. During their search, they noticed that Davis had no other frozen yogurt shop and that the available space on E street was busy nearly all day. What separates The Shack from the dessert pack is that it’s self-serve style.