Playa Bowls is a fun açaì and smoothie bowl restaurant chain that is becoming more and more prominent along the Jersey Shore. With the restaurant only being two years old, many people have been wondering how this small stand became the go-to stop at the beach.
Playa Bowls was founded in 2014 by two beach lovers named Rob and Abby. The store started out as a small stand at the corner of 8th Ave and Ocean Ave in Belmar, New Jersey. With the stand being across the street from the beach, it's originally small menu of a few açaì bowls some smoothies caught a lot of attention.
Before they knew it, Rob and Abby's small stand became everyone's favorite restaurant in Belmar. Not too long after, Playa Bowls locations were being built all along the Jersey Shore in places like Pier Village at Long Branch, Bay Head, the soon-to-be-opened location in Red Bank, and even a store at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
What makes Playa Bowls so successful? Playa Bowls definitely attracts attention from a wide-range of age groups. Just being in the store on a typical summer day, I've seen people from middle school age up to senior citizens. According to Joanne, a Playa Bowls Pier Village employee, "The key to Playa Bowls' success is definitely our quality of ingredients. We pride ourselves in the freshest fruit and try to be as organic as possible."
The healthy bowls are simple enough that everyone, even your pickiest eater will like them, but also a fun twist on beach food. Families go to Playa Bowls while at the beach instead of feeding their kids hotdogs and sandwiches, teenagers go to get insta-worthy snacks, and college students who love their healthy food come here to enjoy the numerous health benefits of açaì.
On a typical summer day, according to Joanne, Playa Bowls serves approximately 2,000 customers. If you come early in the morning you won't be hit with too long of a line, but during the afternoon when everyone is at the beach the line may stretch down the block. It's not surprise that Playa Bowls is a fun beach day stop though.
As Joanne stated, "Playa Bowls has this chill surfer vibe. Just being in any of our six locations you feel like you just stepped in a slice of paradise."
Speaking of paradise, Playa Bowls' most popular açaì bowl definitely takes you to food lover's heaven. The Nutella bowl is contains Sambazon açaì blended with apple juice and banana and topped with granola, strawberries, bananas, coconut flakes, and Nutella drizzle. This picture perfect bowl is the a great afternoon snack when spending the day down the shore.
It's no surprise that this once small stand on Ocean Ave, Belmar has taken New Jersey by storm. With their fresh ingredients, fun beach atmosphere, and highly photogenic food, Playa Bowls has created a new meaning to "beach food."
As the days go on, açaì bowls are becoming more and more popular in New Jersey thanks to Playa Bowls. Now, we all must wait eagerly to see if a Playa Bowls comes to a town near us. Until then, as their motto says, go bowls deep!