Popular franchise The Yard Milkshake Bar will join Mesa’s upcoming Cannon Beach Surf Park development located at 4631 S Power Road, according to franchisee Scott Mills.
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Mills and his partner Kendra Lachmund also manage the popular CityScape location, where they serve up its signature shake, The Camelback Mountain, named for Phoenix’s beautiful sunsets; this includes orange and yellow whipped cream, orange blossom ice cream, and a yellow chocolate star, highlighted by blue drizzles and sprinkles.
Aside from the upcoming Cannon Beach location, Mills and Lachmund also have two other projects in the works, Mills said over the phone. One is a food trailer which should open at the end of February as well as a kiosk in Westgate the following April. Although carrying limited menus, these two condensed locations will still provide their customers with the most popular menu items, as Mills expressed that they wanted to make their shakes more accessible to people in that area.
While its name is The Yard Milkshake Bar, there is so much more inside these creations. Take their January specials: the rim of each mason jar is lined with a delicious, sticky ingredient like frosting or peanut butter that is then rolled in mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, or crushed peanuts. After that, add the ice cream, whipped cream, and other typical sundae goodness. For example, the “Butter Butter Crunch” then adds a brownie and caramel popcorn; another milkshake called “Diet Starts Tomorrow” is topped off with a cupcake and a doughnut, or you can go simple with “Snow Days,” a vanilla milkshake with not just whipped cream, but also a sugar cookie pop and even more sprinkles.
The Yard Milkshake Bar sprung to life in 2017, six years after founder Chelsea Green and her mother had already started Island Ice Cream. Specialty milkshakes were Green’s dream for the second dessert shop – based on the burgeoning Freak Shake trends – and the idea made a huge splash in Green’s hometown of Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Green and her husband, Logan, then brought The Yard onto Shark Tank in 2019, looking for a Shark to partner with them to manage their growth and bring their shakes to a national stage via franchising. Although Mark Cuban offered $400,000 and 22 percent of franchises and company stores, the deal did not go through, according to The Shark Tank Blog.
Regardless, The Yard has scooped up 24 franchise locations across the United States, with this new one in Mesa bringing it to around 25.