Major Life Changes Spur New Owners to try Snowbunny Yogurt

It was a chilly morning in November when Carl Palisano sat down to a back table at and told how he came to buy the shop a year ago. Palisano shrugged off the lack of customers that day. After what he's been through, a quiet day is nothing to sweat. 

Two years ago, Palisano got hit with a double scoop of bad luck. The meltdown of the housing market put the former mortgage firm account executive out of a job. A week later, his wife of 22 years was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

"I was over 50 and out of a job that I knew was never coming back," Palisano said. "And with Lori undergoing chemotherapy treatments she couldn't work either. Plus we had three kids."

During one exam for his wife, doctors began acting a bit odd, he thought. After one scan, Lori's doctor was examining her chest. "Lori said, 'I think you've got the wrong part of my body,'" recalls Palisano with a shake of his head. "Turns out they had spotted something else."

Lori Palisano had breast cancer. She underwent a double mastectomy. Determined to do all he could to help his wife, Palisano began thinking of opening up a business. "I wanted something small that was already established. Something I could run myself and still have time to tend to Lori."

Finally, a lick of good fortune came his way. "After her chemo treatments, we would stop at a fast-food place to get Lori a cup of soft-serve. The treatments made her throat dry and parched. She really enjoyed it; these small pleasures we shared. So that got me thinking," remembers Palisano, 'Why not buy a yogurt shop.'"

Sometimes life works the way it should. Just when Palisano was thinking about buying a yogurt shop, the original owner of Snowbunny was thinking of selling. "The timing was perfect," Palisano said with a laugh. "I have to wonder if something or someone was looking out for us."

Buying the shop would take a big bite out of the couple's savings.  But Palisano believed it might be worth the risk. After all, the shop had a lot going for it; an ideal location on the Plaza, a high ceiling interior of industrial chic, plus a reputation of serving a uniquely delicious style of yogurt.

"Finally, a healthy yogurt place in Sonoma Valley," said Mandi, a customer from Santa Rosa who declined to provide her last name. "The shop is clean with an interesting interior and the yogurt is great."

Palisano studied the shop's sales volume history. It was favorable but he noted a significant decline in yogurt sales during the winter months.

He hoped he could reduce the seasonal sales slump by adding light breakfast fare to Snowbunny's basic menu of three yogurt flavors, plus a weekly special, along with 30 different toppings.

"The addition of breakfast items, like warm oatmeal, has helped keep our sales volume up during the cold weather," said Palisano.

But Palisano credits most of his success to Snowbunny's special kind of yogurt.

"Most yogurt shops use a powdered substance," explained Palisano. "It's filled with chemicals.  It's bad for you and leaves your mouth feeling like you just swallowed a cup of cool paste," he added with a grimace. "Not us. We use all natural organic yogurt and imported flavorings from Italy. It costs a little more but that's part of what makes our yogurt special." That, and the secret.

When he purchased Snowbunny, Palisano claims he came into possession of a secret yogurt recipe. "The man who sold me Snowbunny sold me his secret formula too." Pointing to a small, closed room in the back, "that's where I make the yogurt by following the secret recipe. It tells me how much and what type of milk to add, the amount of sugars, the portion of flavorings. The secret is what makes our yogurt taste so good." 

You may scoff at the notion of a highly prized secret yogurt recipe known only to a chosen few, but according to Palisano, it's the real deal, and he has competitors who are after it.

"A guy came in the other day from a yogurt shop down south. He heard about our yogurt. My little girl was in the back," recalls Palisano, his eyes twinkling. "He asked her, 'is this where your daddy makes his yogurt?' She says, 'yeah.' He then says to her, 'can you tell me how he does it?' 'No; it's a secret,' she said. 'Oh, you can tell me,' the man says, and you know what my daughter replied?" says Palisano laughing, 'Then it wouldn't be a secret would it?'"  

Today Palisano divides his time between running the yogurt shop and caring for his wife, who, while cancer-free, requires continual therapy. And while he does admit to dreaming of expanding one day — or even franchising — he's content that the worst of times are behind him and the best is yet to be. 

"I'm a firm believer in karma. I think if you don't lose hope, don't despair, the good will balance out the bad. It did for Lori and me. It's turned our life around and it's helped me lose 25 pounds too!" exclaimed Palisano. "Our yogurt makes for a great, healthy lunch. I have it every day. I was in for my annual checkup and my doctor said, 'My God Carl, you look great; your weight's down, your cholesterol is good. How did you do it?'

I said, 'Can't tell you doc, it's my secret.'"