The Bigg Chill

The Bigg Chill is a frozen yogurt shop in Westwood, Los Angeles. It was established in 1986, and bought in 1990 by current owners Diane Dinow and her daughter, Cary Russell. The store has been noted for its interior design, variety of conventional flavors, and longevity.

Store

The Bigg Chill's interior has a neon-pink and aqua theme.[1] The store rotates daily from a selection of over 400 flavors and only accepts cash.[2] Many of the store's early flavors were created by Michael Mendelsohn; in 1994, he told the Los Angeles Times that chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter were the best-selling flavors, and the toasted almond and Mounds candy bar flavors also performed well.[3]

The store's owners reported in 2011 that they could see as many as 1,000 customers a day, and up to 1,300 on the weekends.[1]

History

Early history

The Bigg Chill was established in 1986[4] in a small strip mall in Westwood, Los Angeles. In 1990, the store was bought by Cary Russell and her mother, Diane Dinow.[1] The Los Angeles Times characterized the name as a homage to the 1983 film The Big Chill.[5] On January 26, 1990, a fire broke out at a neighboring cleaners store in the strip mall, causing "extensive" damage.[6] In 1994, the Los Angeles Times wrote that The Bigg Chill saw hundreds of regular customers daily. Up to 150 people could call in a day to hear which flavors the store was offering, causing the owners to begin listing the daily rotation of flavors on their answering machine. Dinow had already received several offers to franchise the store, but she refused; she had plans to open another store in Studio City, securing a US$100,000 loan (US$ in today's money) to open it.[3]

In 2006, frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry rose to popularity, causing The Bigg Chill's revenues to drop 30 percent. Russell created and heavily marketed a tart ice cream flavor known as "Chill Berry" to recuperate profits.[1]

Demi Lovato incident

In April 2021, The Bigg Chill received widespread attention on social media after singer-songwriter and actor Demi Lovato criticized the store on her Instagram story. Lovato argued that it had too many diet foods prominently displayed, which she characterized as "perpetuating a society that not only enables but praises disordered eating", including the hashtag "#dietculturevultures". The Bigg Chill responded that it carries those products for people with celiac disease, diabetes, and vegans.[4] They also directly messaged Lovato on Instagram, "We are not diet vultures. We cater to all of our customers needs for the past 36 years. We are sorry you found this offensive".[7] The back-and-forth continued, with Lovato receiving significant backlash on social media and in the news. Some users accused Lovato of using her large platform—Lovato had 102 million Instagram followers—to unfairly criticize a small business.[2] The Bigg Chill told The Huffington Post that they were "really hurt by Demi's comments" and reiterated their support for their variety of options.[7]

mapframe	yes
map alt	Map of Los Angeles to show The Bigg Chill
established	1986
current owner	Cary Russell and Diane Dinow
street address	10850 West Olympic Blvd
city	Los Angeles
county	Los Angeles
state	California
postcode	90064
country	United States
coordinates	34.04372°N, -118.43139°W
website	thebiggchill.com

Store

History

Early history

Demi Lovato incident

Reception and impact

References