Two best friends who have opened a string of Hobart eateries in the past two years are teaming up to bring something new to Glenorchy, a self-serve frozen yogurt store called Yogi Bar.
Felix Graves, owner of Smash Boy Burgers and Liam Usoalii, owner of Viva Italia Pizzeria, hope to open their new venture by the end of October.
The pair run neighbouring restaurants in both Glenorchy and Kingston’s Spring Farm Village.
When a third space on the Glenorchy strip came up for lease, Graves said they decided to join forces with a business that “complemented both of our shops”.
Fish and chips was considered before they settled on frozen yogurt.
Graves said the idea came about last year, when there was no frozen yogurt shops open around Hobart, only in Kingston at Salty Dog.
Several have appeared or been announced they will be coming since, including Swirl and Stacks, Yo-Bar and Yo-Chi.
The name was first planned as Yogi Bear with a bear mascot, but it was changed to Yogi Bar to suit what Graves described as a “premium” look.
“We wanted people to walk in here and just be like, ‘wow’,” he told Pulse.
Graves and Usoali are both 26 and went to The Hutchins School together. They first met around the age of 10 through a mutual friend.
“We actually used to hate each other when we were kids,” Graves said.
“However many years later, 16 years later, we’re best mates and we’re business partners.”
Usoali opened his first Viva Italia in 2024 and now has shops in New Norfolk, Kingston and Glenorchy.
Graves opened Smash Boy in Glenorchy in October last year and has since expanded to Spring Farm Village in Kingston.
“We wanna keep bringing cool things to Hobart and the community and just keep serving good food really,” Graves said.
He said the team was aiming to open on October 17, though the opening was likely to be closer to the end of the month. The date will be announced on Yogi Bar’s Instagram page.
