coolest treats in the galaxy

All About Sputnik's Yogurt

Meet The Owner

Rebecca Pickren Thomson was born in Columbus, Georgia, on October 4, 1957; as fate would have it, on that same day,

the Soviets launched a tiny satellite, just 29 inches in diameter to be exact, named “Sputnik,” which means “peace” in Russian.

When Rebecca was little “Sputnik” was her nickname. As a member of the human race, Rebecca was destined to grow up and join the rat race; as the first object ever launched into outer space, Sputnik was destined to start a space race, which lead to a cold war. After all that, mama made people stop calling her “Sputnik,” dubbing her “Becky” instead. Still, Rebecca has always loved all things Sputnik. She collects various Sputnik memorabilia, and calls her antique business—Sputnik’s Antiques, Inc.—which of course sells sputnik lamps and sputnik chandeliers from the 50s and 60s, and vintage barkcloth fabric with funky atomic designs. She was raised in Columbus and Phenix City, Alabama; graduated from Auburn University with BS and MS degrees in Agricultural Economics. For the past 25 years, she has worked as an independent economic consultant specializing in cost-of-service analysis and financial planning for water utilities. She and her husband Ray, an engineer with Jacobs Engineering and avid home brewer, moved into Horseshoe Bend in 1993. They love Roswell, especially the Horseshoe Bend “Willow Lake” community, and plan to stay here for life. Health constraints forced Rebecca to give up her consulting career, but she still has an entrepreneur’s heart. Therefore, when the local Menchie’s yogurt shop closed in December 2012, she quickly moved in to purchase the assets and take over the seller’s lease at Centennial Village, in the strip mall in front of Kroger. A bit of a rebel at heart, she knew she could not fit into the strict Menchie’s franchise model. Therefore, she started her own independent yogurt shop and called it what else but “Sputnik’s Yogurt.” Grand Opening 2013 Sputnik's Yogurt is not likely to ever become a corporate giant, at least not under Rebecca’s leadership. Her dream is to operate one of those rare jewels of a neighborhood shop, well known and well loved by East Roswell neighbors, and periodically discovered by others who happened to pass by. Sputnik’s Yogurt had its grand opening celebration on June 29, 2012. Several hundred of our wonderful neighbors, as well as Mayor Jere Wood, came out to enjoy the ribbon cutting, $1.00 yogurt, T-shirts, Games2U games, and our special guest, Michael Douglas of the Harlem Globetrotters. The T-Shirts and the giant Sputnik's Satellite Ball were big hits with the kids. The best news is that our customers love our yogurt. We go the extra mile and spend the extra dollar to provide premi um quality yogurt; the real thing, not a reconstituted powdered milk-food. Our machines are maintained daily so our yogurt is always rich and creamy, and never runny or icy. Our toppings are plentiful and our fruit is purchased fresh daily. We strive to keep the store clean, well-stocked, and in good order. Sputnik's Yogurt is decidedly different from other self-serve yogurt shops. Customers love our quirky, funky atmosphere, created with part of Rebecca’s sputnik collections, like sputnik chandeliers, orbiting space craft and planets, and bold use of colors. Plus, customers love our staff. They are friendly and always willing to help. Our Specialties Yogurt is made by fermenting low fat milk with special bacteria (Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and as many as 6 others) to create an end product that actually helps your gut process food to better support your immune system. However, if the fermented product is then dried to a powder which then has to be re-hydrated and frozen, the beneficial bacteria are likely to be killed in the process, losing the health benefit. Our liquid yogurts are from Honey Hill Farms, a small dairy in Russellville, Arkansas. Honey Hill takes an artisan’s approach to creating new flavors and a responsible approach to processing and delivering its products. They take great pride in selecting the ingredients used to flavor the yogurts; using fresh strawberry puree instead of strawberry extract, for instance. The yogurt is transported in sturdy, recyclable jugs, designed to allow us to mix in additional flavors to create our own house specialties. More importantly, all Honey Hill yogurts are guaranteed to have live cultures in the finished product. That means a big cup of Sputnik’s Yogurt is actually good for you, as long as you take it easy at the candy toppings bar, of course. All yogurt is low fat and gluten free (except some flavors). We keep nutritional and ingredient information handy at the center station. We always offer two non-dairy sorbets for those who are lactose sensitive, plus at least one “no sugar added” flavor. To protect those with nut allergies, we keep all nut toppings separate and serve them with different spoons to help us prevent contamination of serving utensils. We have six yogurt machines that deliver 12 flavors, plus a center handle that swirls two flavors together. For example, we have espresso paired with vanilla nutmeg, creating spiced café latte; and dairy-free mango tango paired with watermelon sorbet, creating fruit punch sorbet. We rotate our flavors weekly so there is always something new to try. Let us know your favorite flavor and we will try to work it in. We'll even give you a call when we do. To top your treat, Sputnik's Yogurt has 22 toppings like crushed Oreos and Twix candies, granola, and fresh nuts. You will love our candied pecan-walnut mix and slivered almonds. Our cold bar has an additional 12 items brought in fresh daily, including treats like pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, black berries, blueberries, banana, kiwi, brownie bits, cookie dough, s'mores, and mochi. And to top off your creation we have hot fudge, hot butterscotch, hot caramel, and cold marshmallow topping. There is really no reason why you should not visit us daily.