YoGo Station opened last week at 1000 Lake in downtown Oak Park. The space is part of what used to be HobbyTown USA, at the corner of Lake and Forest.

Yung, 28, a 1998 Oak Park and River Forest High School grad, says the concept has become the rage in Los Angeles and New York, and he believed it would fit well here.

YoGo is self-serve. You grab a bowl after walking through the door and fill it with as much frozen yogurt as desired. Over the weekend, Yung was offering plain yogurt, along with six other flavors: green tea, piña colada, passion fruit, pink guava, strawberry banana and pumpkin pie. He plans to rotate new flavors-peanut butter, kiwi, espresso-each week.

After some requests, he also plans to add traditional flavors such as vanilla and chocolate next week. "We get a lot of that, but I'm trying to get people to think outside of the box a little bit," he said.

Customers add as many toppings as desired from the 26 offered. Those include fresh fruit, granola, cereal, candy, cookies, marshmallows, or chunks of a Japanese rice cake called mochi.

The charge is 25 cents per ounce as an opening promotion. The price will go to 39 cents an ounce next year. Frozen yogurt is also available by the quart or pint. The store offers other items, such as hot or boxed tea, smoothies, and bottled drinks.

Yung, who lives in University Village, hopes YoGo will offer a healthy alternative to Oak Park's with ice cream shops. The yogurt is all natural with 80 calories per 4-ounce serving.

The small, neon-colored space seats about 10, and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Web site is www.yogostation.com.

Urban fashion boutique joins OP

Lincoln Ford owns a rim and tire shop in Austin, and previously ran a tour company in Jamaica, where he was born and raised. Now the former Oak Park resident is tackling the urban clothing market, and he's doing it here.

In August, Ford opened World Fashion Inc. at 1117 Lake in downtown Oak Park, which previously housed a jewelry store. The small boutique specializes in upscale, urban-contemporary fashion, offering brands such as Ed Hardy, Sean John, Rocawear and Dereon, which is pop star Beyonce's clothing line.

The store targets the younger crowd, but also offers items to interest older shoppers too, says Manager Nikki Jones. Those include Angora boots, mink purses and wool coats.

"You can't do everything for everybody, but we're going to try to cater to the mature crowd as well," Jones said.

In addition to clothing items, World Fashion also offers numerous accessories, such as belt buckles, sunglasses, earrings and scarves. The store offers a small selection of shoes, which they may expand in the future. With the country in a recession, Jones says more people seem to be accessorizing their old outfits.

World Fashion is open to suggestions on items they don't carry. They hope the store will offer convenience for shoppers in the area who don't want to travel to malls in other suburbs to shop.

The owner lived in Oak Park in the late 1990s, and now resides in the South Loop. He was inspired to open a clothing store after customers at his auto shop showed interest in a T-shirt he designed hanging on the wall. Ford, 47, is an artist, and hopes to eventually design his own line to offer at World Fashion.

Ford says he chose Oak Park for its diversity and integration and has never felt "out of sorts" in the village.

"There's no racism, no red tape," he said. "I always liked the feel of it. Everybody comes up to you, and they're very open."

World Fashion is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and closes at 6 p.m. Sunday. They can be reached at 708-445-2600.