{"id":423490,"date":"2026-08-04T10:44:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/423490\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T10:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T10:44:20","slug":"mechanic-trades-antifreeze-for-frozen-yogurt-in-long-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/423490\/","title":{"rendered":"Mechanic trades antifreeze for frozen yogurt in Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>          <img width=\"2560\" height=\"1773\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Buddies-Frozen-Yogurt-Long-Beach-2-scaled.jpeg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-4 wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael Waldman spent years welcoming customers on some of their worst days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flat tires. Costly repairs. Unexpected breakdowns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the longtime mechanic decided to open something completely different: a frozen yogurt shop where the only decisions are flavors and toppings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buddies Frozen Yogurt opened in July on West Beech Street in Long Beach with a simple goal \u2014 give people a place to smile, relax and spend time together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo one is ever happy coming to my car shop, and I completely understand why,\u201d Waldman said with a laugh. \u201cSo my business partner Judah Spector and I opened this place, and it\u2019s the complete opposite. It\u2019s like heaven every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The self-serve shop features nine frozen yogurt flavors and a topping bar that goes well beyond sprinkles and candy. Customers can pile on everything from fresh cinnamon buns and brownie bites to pieces of cheesecake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt all goes back to having fun here,\u201d Waldman told Greater Long Island.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The name Buddies reflects that philosophy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than creating a place where customers grab dessert and head home, Waldman said he envisioned a neighborhood gathering spot where friends could meet, hang out and enjoy a treat together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2018Buddies\u2019 is the perfect name because we wanted to open a place where people can meet their friends and hang out,\u201d he said. \u201cNot just pick something up and leave. It\u2019s supposed to be a fun place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So far, that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Waldman said watching customers of all ages enjoy the new shop has been the most rewarding part of opening the business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt makes me so happy to see people smile, people of all ages,\u201d he said. \u201cI know we did a good thing. That\u2019s what makes me love coming to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buddies Frozen Yogurt is located at 1048 W. Beech St. in the former La Focacceria space. The shop is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Friday and from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays.<\/p>\n<p>Follow the journey<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Top: Buddies Frozen Yogurt is located at 1048 W. Beech St. in the former La Focacceria space. (Credit: GLI\/Andrew Rappaport)<\/p>\n<p>                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GLI_LOGO-FAVICON-NOBG.png\" alt=\"Your Long Island news, delivered.\" width=\"180\" height=\"60\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n                Your Long Island news, delivered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"description\">Subscribe to the GLI Newsletter \u2014 its free<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Waldman spent years welcoming customers on some of their worst days. Flat tires. Costly repairs. Unexpected breakdowns.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[125045,131,133,132,168984],"class_list":["post-423490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-frozen-yogurt","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-sweet-treats"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}