An Icelandic restaurateur is on a mission to offer Americans healthy, fast food, and he’s starting with a spot on downtown Phoenix’s Grand Avenue.
Unnar Danielsson opened Thor’s Skyr last month, serving bowls, smoothies and sandwiches that use the Icelandic ingredient. So what is skyr (which is pronounced like skier)?
“It’s basically fermented milk,” Danielsson explains from Reykjavík, Iceland. “It’s something Icelanders survive on during cold winters and so on.”
Skyr stands apart from other yogurts and kefirs because it’s higher in protein, lower in sugar and often free of lactose, he adds.
Danielsson developed the traditional Icelandic dairy item for an American audience in 2020 with the backing of some big names, including actors Dylan Sprouse, Terry Crews and Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, who has also taken the title of World’s Strongest Man.
Thor's Skyr began with single-serve cups of American-made skyr, sold in stores. With the new Grand Avenue spot, the concept is going beyond the dairy case and bringing skyr straight to diners.
When he visited the Valley a year ago, he was scouting locations for Thor’s Skyr smoothie bars, which will be inside LA Fitness gyms. On that trip, he and his business partners decided to visit some other locations, “just for the fun of it,” he says.
When they stopped by Grand Avenue, the building that sits just southeast of Pierce Street and across from the revered Mexican restaurant Bacanora immediately reminded Danielsson of his first restaurant in Reykjavík, a cafe serving traditional Icelandic dishes called Icelandic Street Food.
“I just fell in love with the neighborhood there,” he adds.
Danielsson went with his gut and secured the space.
The Grand Avenue building was most recently home to Merkari Downtown Kava Bar but has also been home to Cha Cha's Tea Lounge and the contemporary art space 9 the Gallery. Now, the shop’s awning and window casements are the rich blue of Iceland’s flag. Across the facade, a painting depicts a Viking ship stuffed with numerous items, including a cow, strawberries and flowers. Inside the building, the entire store is enveloped in blue.
The menu, which was developed by the award-winning Icelandic chef Hinrik Lárusson, includes nearly a dozen smoothie bowls. Each starts with a base of skyr, followed by a blend of fruits and nut butters, topped with fruit, granola, coconut flakes, cacao nibs and other toppings. The menu also includes smoothies blended with skyr and sandwiches that get a skyr pesto spread.
Complimentary drip coffee and thin waffles that are made with oats, eggs, banana and skyr come with each order.
Among the most popular items so far is the Cloudy Morning bowl that includes skyr, almond and peanut butters, dates, almonds, banana, mango and pineapple, topped with granola, strawberries, banana, pineapple, peanut butter and dark chocolate. The Cloudy Morning is also available as a smoothie, a drink that’s even popular with Danielsson's 4-year-old daughter.
“I can basically trick her to get that instead of an ice cream,” he quips.
Danielsson isn’t stopping with the downtown Phoenix restaurant. In the Valley, a Thor’s Skyr smoothie bar opens on Wednesday at the LA Fitness in Scottsdale’s McCormick Ranch. The team is also readying to launch Thunder by Thor’s – a refrigerated vending machine with grab-and-go bowls, shakes and sandwiches – next month in locations around downtown, including the Heard Building and Roosevelt Point.
The founder also envisions opening and franchising Thor’s Skyr shops across the country, and the plan is already underway. The Thor’s Skyr team opened a location in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood on April 5.
“We’re thinking big,” he says. “We’re going to grow this as much as we possibly can.”
Unnar Danielsson opened Thor’s Skyr last month, serving bowls, smoothies and sandwiches that use the Icelandic ingredient. So what is skyr (which is pronounced like skier)?
“It’s basically fermented milk,” Danielsson explains from Reykjavík, Iceland. “It’s something Icelanders survive on during cold winters and so on.”
Skyr stands apart from other yogurts and kefirs because it’s higher in protein, lower in sugar and often free of lactose, he adds.
Danielsson developed the traditional Icelandic dairy item for an American audience in 2020 with the backing of some big names, including actors Dylan Sprouse, Terry Crews and Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, who has also taken the title of World’s Strongest Man.
Thor's Skyr founder Unnar Danielsson, right, partnered with celebrities, including actor Dylan Sprouse.
Thor's Skyr
Thor's Skyr began with single-serve cups of American-made skyr, sold in stores. With the new Grand Avenue spot, the concept is going beyond the dairy case and bringing skyr straight to diners.
“If you want to get a taste of Iceland, you just go down to the shop," Danielsson says.
When he visited the Valley a year ago, he was scouting locations for Thor’s Skyr smoothie bars, which will be inside LA Fitness gyms. On that trip, he and his business partners decided to visit some other locations, “just for the fun of it,” he says.
When they stopped by Grand Avenue, the building that sits just southeast of Pierce Street and across from the revered Mexican restaurant Bacanora immediately reminded Danielsson of his first restaurant in Reykjavík, a cafe serving traditional Icelandic dishes called Icelandic Street Food.
“I just fell in love with the neighborhood there,” he adds.
Danielsson went with his gut and secured the space.
The inside and outside of Thor's Skyr are painted in the vibrant blue of Iceland's flag.
Sara Crocker
The menu, which was developed by the award-winning Icelandic chef Hinrik Lárusson, includes nearly a dozen smoothie bowls. Each starts with a base of skyr, followed by a blend of fruits and nut butters, topped with fruit, granola, coconut flakes, cacao nibs and other toppings. The menu also includes smoothies blended with skyr and sandwiches that get a skyr pesto spread.
Complimentary drip coffee and thin waffles that are made with oats, eggs, banana and skyr come with each order.
“When I’ve been traveling in the U.S., I haven’t seen a lot of healthy foods on the go,” Danielsson says. “Our mission is making healthy foods more available to Americans and people in Phoenix."
Among the most popular items so far is the Cloudy Morning bowl that includes skyr, almond and peanut butters, dates, almonds, banana, mango and pineapple, topped with granola, strawberries, banana, pineapple, peanut butter and dark chocolate. The Cloudy Morning is also available as a smoothie, a drink that’s even popular with Danielsson's 4-year-old daughter.
“I can basically trick her to get that instead of an ice cream,” he quips.
Danielsson isn’t stopping with the downtown Phoenix restaurant. In the Valley, a Thor’s Skyr smoothie bar opens on Wednesday at the LA Fitness in Scottsdale’s McCormick Ranch. The team is also readying to launch Thunder by Thor’s – a refrigerated vending machine with grab-and-go bowls, shakes and sandwiches – next month in locations around downtown, including the Heard Building and Roosevelt Point.
Thor's Skyr serves bowls, including the Cloudy Morning, as well as smoothies and sandwiches made with the Icelandic dairy product.
Sara Crocker
“We’re thinking big,” he says. “We’re going to grow this as much as we possibly can.”
