Tony Humbert -- the owner of the Frozen Oasis shops in Solon and Mentor -- said he first saw frozen yogurt shops while traveling a few years back.

"We had looked at this a few years ago," he said. "We saw it out west."

When Humbert first saw the shop -- with its self-serve flavors and toppings -- there was nothing like it in Ohio.

However, in the interim, another frozen yogurt shop opened in Mentor and another is coming later this year. But Humbert thinks there is still plenty of clientele to go around for everybody.

Consequently, he opened a shop two weeks ago at 8445 Market Street in Mentor, which is next door to the TNT Tanning Salon that he also owns. Then he opened a second shop last weekend in the Solon Square Shopping Center.

"We have some plans for expansion," Humbert said, opting not to specify locations until the deals were finalized.

Frozen Oasis's raison d'être is customization. It offers 10 different flavors of frozen yogurt, including classic tart, vanilla, triple chocolate, blueberry, peanut butter, mango sorbet and cookies & cream.

Customers can choose to combine as many flavors as they want and then garnish it with any of the shop's 50 different toppings. M&M’s, strawberries, oreos, Cap'n Crunch and cookie dough are just some of the options.

Finally, instead of paying by topping or yogurt flavor, the customer pays a flat rate based upon the weight of their dessert.

The shops have big dining rooms and Humbert hopes that people will use them to host parties for birthdays, their sports teams and the like.

Frozen Oasis is open from noon to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.