A Madrid-born frozen yogurt chain is setting up shop on a stretch of the Upper East Side that already has no shortage of froyo options. Myka opens Saturday, October 24, at 1547 Second Avenue, between East 80th and 81st streets, in a storefront that most recently housed Ania Rybka Salon.
The company hasn't announced opening hours for the new location, according to East Side Feed. What it is announcing is its pitch: a tangier, less sweet take on frozen yogurt, built on an original base of Greek yogurt and goat's milk kefir rather than the sugary soft-serve New Yorkers grew up on.
Each Myka store makes its product on site in its own workshop, rotating in two seasonal flavors a month, per the same report. For customers avoiding dairy, the shop also offers fruit sorbets, and its toppings lean distinctly Mediterranean — think baklava, pistachio sauce, olive oil, and fig and orange compotes.
From a Single Madrid Shop to a Manhattan Footprint
Myka started as a single shop in Madrid in 2023, founded by chef Natalia Morales and entrepreneur Javier Ezquerro. The brand's growth since then has been reported inconsistently: Patch reported the chain has expanded to 51 locations in 15 countries, while the National Herald has put the figure at more than 175 stores across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States.
Whatever the exact count, the company's U.S. push is recent. Its first American store opened in Miami Beach last December, and it has since added several Manhattan locations, including one in the West Village known for drawing lines, plus spots in Union Square and Midtown, according to the same Patch report. A Rockefeller Center location opened over the summer, and Myka also runs a shop at 159 Seventh Avenue South near Perry Street in Greenwich Village, per the New York Times.
Joining an Already Crowded Froyo Corridor
Myka's arrival lands in a neighborhood that's been steadily refilling with frozen yogurt, as East Side Feed put it. Mimi's, an Australian frozen-yogurt brand, opened its Lexington Avenue shop at East 72nd Street last month, a few months after Mythos, a Greek-inspired shop with a similar yogurt-first approach, opened on First Avenue between 68th and 69th streets.
The new Myka location also isn't lacking for close neighbors in its own category. Pinkberry, 16 Handles and Anita Gelato all sit on Second Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets, less than a block away, and Patch notes that Yogurt Club and Sedutto are both within a five-block radius as well.
The glut reflects a broader pattern beyond just the Upper East Side. A new wave of Greek-style frozen yogurt shops has emerged across South America, Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia, according to International Frozen Yogurt, which ties the trend partly to demand for protein-forward, lower-sugar desserts that fit a wellness-minded diet. The site notes that most of these Greek-style shops, including the newest New York entrants like Mimi's, Yogurt Club and Madison Fare, favor a counter-serve format — though it points out that among those three, only Mimi's is still self-serve.
Whether Myka's uptown debut repeats the kind of lines its West Village shop is known for remains to be seen once the doors open Saturday.
