Kostantina, a compact Greek frozen-yogurt counter named for the owner's wife, has slipped onto Austin Street in Forest Hills with a quietly confident debut. The shop is scooping a tangy, spoonable Greek yogurt, a dairy-free mango option and a 12-item topping bar, following a quick build-out and a short soft opening that already had neighbors peeking through the door.
Menu, Hours And Where To Find It
According to Kostantina, the counter at 72-38 Austin St is built around a Classic Greek Yogurt base plus a non-dairy choice, with toppings that include pistachio, seasonal fruit and a peanut-butter kataifi. The posted hours run daily from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the site points visitors to the shop's Instagram handle, @kostantinafroyo, for the latest updates.
How It Came Together
The Forest Hills counter comes from members of the Somedays Bakery team: Peter Phillips, Arlander Brown, Lorraine Palazzo and Eddie Mamiye. Phillips signed the lease on June 2 and pushed to get the space open in roughly 35 days. Kostantina soft-launched on July 10, then operated with limited hours from July 16 to 19 before shifting into daily service. Reporting also notes that much of the shop's menu is made from scratch on-site, as detailed by The National Herald.
From Croissants To Fro-Yo
The team behind Kostantina also runs Somedays Bakery, the pastry brand founded by Peter Phillips that grew out of the Chip City Cookies crew, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Somedays Bakery spotlights laminated pastries and a made-from-scratch philosophy, a background the owners say they are carrying over to the frozen-yogurt counter. That blend of pastry technique and Greek flavor is the through line behind Kostantina's menu.
Austin Street's Dessert Shuffle
Austin Street has seen more than a few frozen-treat experiments in recent years, which helps explain why locals can be a bit wary of the next big dessert idea. A 2017 report noted that a short-lived Thai-style ice-cream stall previously operated at 72-38 Austin St, underscoring how small sweets counters can cycle in and out along the block, as reported by DNAinfo. If Kostantina's early stretch is any indication, the owners are betting that their pastry pedigree and 2 to 10 p.m. daily hours can nurture a steady evening crowd.
