Surf’s Up for a Playa Bowl 

As surfers pursuing their version of The Endless Summer throughout Central America, Hawaii, and California, alumnus Robert Giuliani and his partner, Abby Taylor, loved sampling every surf town’s version of an acai or pitaya bowl. Returning to their homes at the Jersey Shore, Giuliani CC’06 and Taylor wanted to recreate, with a twist, their favorite  recipes from the road. In 2013, after arranging with a pizza shop owner to use space in front of his restaurant, they ferried a blender, card table, and an inventory of fresh acai, pitaya, coconut, chia, banana, and oatmeal onto the sidewalk in Belmar, New Jersey, and whipped up their concoctions to hand out to passersby. With that, Playa Bowls was born, and menu favorites such as the Pura Vida Acai Bowl, the Nutella Acai Bowl, and the Electric Mermaid Pitaya Bowl have driven the company’s growth to more than 100 franchises nationwide, the majority of them in New Jersey. Visit playabowls.com.