Serious Action on Pinkberry

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Oct 16, 2007 3:00PM

Being in the heart of the Flyover Zone, we can only live the Pinkberry phenomenon vicariously through the eyes and words of our partners-in-Ist while we wait for a Chicago location to open. When that happens, the company's founders should have some serious cash backing their play.

Pinkberry's founders are expected to announce later today that they've raised $27.5 million in initial venture capital. Much of the financing was acquired by Maveron, a venture capital firm founded by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and investment banker Dan Levitan. Levitan was clued to the Pinkberry craze by numerous people, including Schultz's wife, Sherri. Nice to see someone in Schultz's family with a vice other than coffee. As part of the investment, both Schultz and Levitan will sit on Pinkberry's board while the company works to find a CEO, to put together a stock-option program, and to move towards a public offering — all while hopefully avoiding menu items written in gibberish Italian.

Image via Restaurant Girl.