For Michael Hurst, the appeal of Chill on the Hill was not frozen yogurt: It was Chestnut Hill.

“When I came to visit this spot, I just fell in love with the location and the community, and just thought that the business could become something special and really take off,” said Hurst, who purchased the shop, located at 5 E. Highland Ave., in 2021.

Nearly five years later, that optimism appears to have paid off. In May, Chill won the Philadelphia Inquirer’s 2026 Philly Favorites Gold Medal for Best Ice Cream.

Hurst attributes much of the shop’s success to cleanliness, dependable products, and a welcoming environment.

“We’re not making artisan ice cream from scratch or anything like that. What we do is pretty simple; we just strive for a high level of consistency and a great experience for customers,” he said.

Hurst credits his staff for creating this customer experience. “We really make an effort to hire people who are outgoing, make this a fun place for families to come, for kids to come, and really just kind of create that warm experience for everybody.”

Employees benefit from the positive environment, too. “The community here and my coworkers really helped me figure out who I am and what I want to do,” said employee Asia Simmons. “Everyone here is just really supportive. It’s a feel-good kind of job.”

Hurst said both popularity and revenue have recently increased. Employees have noticed this firsthand, with busier shifts and more customers.

“Comparing last summer to this summer, it’s been crazy. We’ve had lines out the door,” Simmons said.

Customer service and a clean shop are not the only reasons for Chill’s growth. Another factor has been Gen Z’s frozen yogurt craze. The treat has gone viral on social media, and Chill is no exception. For a limited time this spring, Chill added the viral Dubai Chocolate flavor, using a swirl of chocolate and pistachio yogurt, honey, and shredded phyllo.

“My co-worker Hope, who is really into aesthetics, has been working on our TikTok for maybe like eight months now,” Simmons said. “We’ll get really festive, so during fall and winter, we’ll have like a bunch of fall-themed posts, and a bunch of Christmas-themed posts.”

The account features popular combinations, trends and videos of the shop’s decorated exterior. Currently, they have over 600 followers and 10,800 total likes.

To appeal to a wide range of customers, Chill aims to balance trendy, fun flavors with the classics: vanilla, chocolate and original tart. Flavors also rotate seasonally, giving returning customers something new to try year-round. Even in the coldest months of winter, Chill remains open, offering hot chocolate, warm brownies and of course, frozen yogurt.

But for Hurst, frozen yogurt is only a part of what makes Chill special. The shop also emphasizes neighborhood involvement. Chill often runs fundraising events called “dine and donates,” where a portion of the proceeds from a three-hour period is donated to a partnered local school or organization. It also recently donated to Chestnut Hill’s New Leaf Theatre Company.

“We feel like Chill is part of the Chestnut Hill community,” Hurst said. “It has been for 13 years, and it’s kind of a place where people come when they’re little, and come as they get older, and so we really want to try to give back to the community as much as we can.”