“It’s a social place where people can hang out,” says Yen Chin “Christine” Chen ’14. “You can satisfy that midnight craving of froyo.”
But some students and residents are quick to defend the originality of Berryline.
“What I like about Berryline is the culture and the atmosphere. Berryline is a nicer, cuter, hole-in-the-wall place,” says Sabina Ceric ’12. “I don’t like the corporate-y feel of Pinkberry. I think what it’ll end up happening is Pinkberry will be very touristy and Berryline will still get a lot of college students.”
Grant M. Jones ’14, who serves as a student representative for Berryline, also notes that the store has done a lot of work to build a reputation within the Harvard community, which will keep customers loyal.
“It’s not just frozen yogurt,” Jones says. “Not only is the taste better by far—it’s the local feel, the community, and the people. It’s so much cozier and familiar than [Pinkberry] with [its] industrial feel. I just love the brand.”
The warm atmosphere that many Berryline devotees describe may stem from the store’s origins.
“We were students,” Wallace says, “We did things the way college students would do them. We bought Target furniture and stuck it in our store. We gave it that homey feel because we made it like we would make a dorm room.”
ROOM FOR TWO
Big corporate chains like Pinkberry are in the minority in Harvard Square. Almost 80 percent of Square businesses are locally owned, and another 5 percent have regional headquarters. By contrast, national and international shops comprise only about 15 percent.
According to Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, the distinct business styles of Pinkberry and Berryline are representative of the mesh of small independent shops and national chains that have long been thriving in the Square.
“Large nationals really have a good understanding of merchandising, advertising, and display that the smaller independents benefit from. By that, I mean, they can emulate them,” Jillson says.
On the other hand, Jillson attributed the ability of small independent businesses to make quick decisions as a “real advantage for them” in the changing economic environment. “They have the ability to grab a broom, go outside, arrange flower baskets, and make their storefronts very appealing. They don’t have to call corporate headquarters across the country,” she says.
Jillson suggests that the future of the sweet debate may not be all that bitter, as Harvard Square has seen a variety of similar businesses exist side-by-side for years.
“We have lots of perfect examples of coexistence,” Jillson says. Indeed, the Harvard Square area supports two—soon to be three—different Starbucks stores, in addition to a plethora of other locally-owned coffee shops.
For their own part, the frozen yogurt stores say they are content to share the market.
According to Ginestro, Pinkberry is “happy to coexist with other shops in the area.”
“Every shop is different and has served their own interpretation of frozen yogurt,” she says.
The Berryline founders agree.
“There’s room in the market for everybody,” says Wallace.