SoBol Opening in University City
Açaí Bowl Brand Opening Second Philadelphia Location at 38th and Spruce in Late August.
Two months after opening in Rittenhouse, the team behind SoBol Philly, the açaí brand which has seen a wildly successful start to their foray into Philadelphia, has announced that they will be opening a second outpost in the City of Brotherly Love, with a University City shop set to open in on August 23rd on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania at 3737 Spruce Street.
SoBol’s new University City location will be significantly larger than the Rittenhouse storefront, with 1,716 square feet and 40 seats inside, compared to 750 square feet and 21 seats at the 46 S. 17th Street location. The menu will be the same, as will the hours, which are seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"We were very excited to bring our delicious and healthy treats to the area when we opened in Rittenhouse last April," said SoBol Philly Co-owner Mike Quinn. "The store's first venture outside of the New York area saw the single best opening month that any of the 22 current SoBol locations have ever seen, and opening in the heart of a major university in the fourth largest city in the U.S. is giving us even higher expectations for our second location. We expect our University City SoBol to be very busy."
"College students looking for a quick, healthy, delicious and affordable meal are a huge part of our target demographic," said Quinn’s partner, Dan Nestor. "Once we saw the space at the corner of 38th and Spruce, we knew immediately that it would be our second location."
SoBol’s Philadelphia operations are spearheaded by Nestor and Quinn, who are longtime friends and business partners from West Chester, PA, and the entrepreneurs behind NEXClean — a specialty cleaning company that the two founded in 2013, which services healthcare facilities throughout the east coast. Ilana Glassner, a University of Pennsylvania graduate and former Blue Apron employee, is the company’s Development Manager, and Andrea Carter, formerly of the Rose Group, is the business’s Operations Manager.
"We believed in this brand from the moment we experienced it for the first time in New York about a year ago," said Nestor. "Not only is it delicious, but it also contains so many health benefits, and we saw from the day we opened that many people in Philadelphia were already fans of açaí bowls and have become loyal regular customers. We were thrilled to see the response, and we are blown away by how often we see many of our guests each week.”
SoBol's menu features three sizes of açaí bowls: $5.95 for kids bowls; $8.50 for regular bowls; and $12.95 for super bowls, which can feed two or three adults. SoBol's açaí bowls contain their homemade granola, açaí puree, and an assortment of blueberries, sliced bananas, strawberries, a sprinkle of coconut and a drizzle of honey. SoBol's original pitaya bowls contain granola, dragon fruit purée, and an assortment of mango, kiwi, pineapple, coconut and a drizzle of honey. Pitaya bowls are priced at $6.95, $9.50 and $14.95, respectively, and custom toppings such as nut butters and chia seeds may be added. Smoothies are priced at $7.29 apiece, with options including Açaí; Pitaya Plus; Super Green; Very Berry; and Strawberry Banana.
Açaí is a small super fruit that grows on the açaí palm tree, which is native to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The açaí berry is packed with several superfood benefits and antioxidants which serve as natural, anti-aging and energy-boosting agents. Pitaya, a super fruit also known as "dragon fruit," is native to Central America and is loaded with antioxidants that help boost immunity and metabolism, and benefits the digestive system.
SoBol's 16 oz. smoothies are priced at $7.29 apiece, with options including Açaí; Pitaya Plus; Super Green; Very Berry; and Strawberry Banana. Whey or plant-based protein can be added to any smoothie for $1.75.
"When we open in our second location, we expect to meet a lot of Drexel and Penn students and educators, as well as professionals who live and/or work in University City and West Philly," said Quinn. "We're looking forward to serving the college crowd and exposing Philadelphians and students alike to our healthy and delicious menu. We're lining up our opening with Penn and Drexel students' and faculty members’ return to school for the fall semester, and that can't come soon enough. In addition to the campus folks, we are also here to fill the appetites of the those working or visiting the surrounding hospitals. These hospitals are some of the best in the country, if not the world. To be able provide a healthy, quick, made-to-order meal for all those that take care of the sick each day would be an honor.”
Learn more by visiting mysobol.com/philly