Mikono, a frozen Greek yogurt shop, is preparing to open its first permanent location in Lincoln Park by the end of the year. The shop, started by friends Nathalie del Valle and Maya Matta, has become a breakout pop-up since the pair began selling their product in February.

From Pop-Up to Permanent

Del Valle and Matta, both 23, met two summers ago during an internship in Chicago. They started experimenting with frozen Greek yogurt recipes in their apartment, watching YouTube videos and testing different ingredients. Their goal was to create a frozen Greek yogurt that still felt like Greek yogurt, not a powdered mix or overly sweet dessert.

The pair invested in a $15,000 “real fruit” machine from New Zealand, which lets them blend their Greek yogurt base with frozen fruit to order. They have been working with Paleta Factory, a family-owned Southwest Side business, to scale production while continuing to tweak their recipe.

Mikono has been hosting in-person pop-ups, including a recent event at River North salon Blowout Junkie, where they sold about 100 bowls of frozen Greek yogurt within two hours. Customers have been raving about the product, with one customer saying it’s “really, really good” and another saying it’s “very creamy and delicious”.

Del Valle and Matta are still handling many parts of the business themselves, but they are working towards opening their shop and preparing for more pop-ups this summer to meet the demand they created one bowl at a time.

Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.