COOLING OFF? Danielle Mott, assistant manager at Hot and Cold Frozen Yogurt in Providence, serves a customer. While national frozen yogurt chains are growing their presence in Rhode Island, independent stores such as Hot and Cold are finding a market. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
American fast food had hit a dry patch in dessert trends when frozen yogurt returned in a blur of neon lights, pop music and smashed candy-bar toppings. A New England invention popularized in the 1980s and left behind a decade later, frozen yogurt has come back stronger than ever in the last five years with…