Playa Bowls intends to open in Jacksonville by year-end in St. Johns Town Center and next year in Beachwalk in St. Johns County.
The New Jersey-based concept has more than 190 stores in 21 states specializing in açaí, pitaya, coconut bowls and smoothies.
Mark Williams and Richard Hardman are the Northeast Florida franchisees for the concept.
Williams said Aug. 15 they will open two locations -- St. Johns Town Center, hopefully in December, and at Beachwalk in Saint Johns next year.
That address will be 345 Beachwalk Shore Drive, Suite 105, Williams said.
Williams said Hardman is originally from New Jersey and had been looking at opening a Playa Bowls franchise. He has been speaking with owners from New Jersey and maintained his interest since moving to Florida three years ago.
He brought the idea to Williams and they became partners in the deal.
"We wanted to open in areas where delicious fresh food products would be appreciated and needed as an option for meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), snacks, or even desserts," Williams said.
"These two locations are great for that. Both are located where you can dine in our beautifully decorated surf & tropical themed restaurant or take your bowl & smoothie out to eat while you shop."
Two locations are planned for now in Northeast Florida.
The spokesperson said each location hires up to 25 people.
The city is reviewing a building-permit application for Ponte Vedra-based Florida Bowls LLC, comprising Williams and Hardman, to build-out the Playa Bowls at 4720 Town Crossing Drive, No. 125. It is between The Escape Game and Zulu Surf Co.
One Call Contracting of Ponte Vedra is the contractor for the estimated $110,000 tenant build-out of 2,012 square feet of space.
New Space Design Inc. of Duluth, Georgia, is the architect.
“What began as a pair of blenders, a patio table, and a fridge has flourished into over 190+ stores, thousands of employees, and a mission to lead communities in healthy, sustainable living,” says playabowls.com.
The Ocean Grove, New Jersey-based company has 194 franchise and 28 corporate locations.
There are 17 locations in Florida concentrated in South Florida as well as Southwest Florida, Tallahassee and Rosemary Beach in the Panhandle.
The logo says it was founded in 2014 and is “NJ’s Original Acai Shop.”
The website says founders Robert Giuliani and Abby Taylor are Jersey Shore natives and longtime surfers. They were inspired on surf trips to Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, California and Hawaii.
“Almost every exotic surf town they visited offered their own unique version of an acai or pitaya bowl,” says the site.
“They decided to recreate their favorite recipes with their own twist at home at the Jersey Shore.”
They made a deal with the owner of the pizza shop they lived above in Belmar, New Jersey.
“They bought a blender, a patio table, a fridge & a freezer and set up a makeshift pop up stand on the sidewalk in front of the pizza shop. They spent a lot of time & effort telling their story and educating customers on the benefits of acai,” says the website.
A job posting for store manager in Jacksonville says Playa Bowls is “New Jersey’s Original Acai Shop” with a mission “to bring superfruit bowls to the masses using only the freshest, highest quality ingredients while providing a fantastic in-store brand experience.”
The menu online includes more than three dozen fruit-based bowls, including the Almond Joy comprising granola, sliced almonds, banana, coconut flakes, raw cacao and honey and the Green Power Bowl of kale blend with vanilla protein topped with granola, banana and almond butter.
There also are smoothies, juices, cold-pressed juices and cold brews.
Prices online for the Tallahassee store show bowls from $9-$12; smoothies from $7.49-$8.49; coffees from $3.50 to $8.99; juices from $5.99 to $7.99; and other items like waters, grab-and-go snacks and catering.