photo by: Submitted

An acai bowl from the soon-to-open Fruitful Acai Bowls is shown.

From a South American fruit to a front-seat cup of coffee, I’ve got news for you about a couple of pending additions to Lawrence’s food and drink scene.

First, let’s do fruit. Fruitful Acai Bowls is in the process of opening in west Lawrence. A vacant space in the shopping center that previously housed Hy-Vee at Sixth and Monterey Way is being converted into a shop that sells all sorts of acai bowls and smoothies.

But what is acai? Don’t feel bad if you don’t know. In fact, that is part of the appeal for Fruitful Acai Bowls owner Natalie Anderson.

“I’m excited to bring it to Lawrence because people know a little bit about it, but it is also something that is kind of new,” Anderson said.

At least, new to Lawrence. Chances are, if you are in South America, you know more about it, especially if you happen to be hanging out in the Amazon rainforest. The fruit is abundant there, growing off a species of palm tree.

Or, perhaps more likely, you had some in California. That’s what happened for Anderson.

“It is popular on the West Coast,” she said. “I have loved acai bowls ever since I tried them about five years ago in California.”

The fruit is popular in certain health food circles. You’ll have to do your own research on what benefits acai may produce, as there is not a clear consensus in the medical community on that currently.

But Anderson said she finds the fruit to have many of the attributes of a blueberry in terms of texture and benefits.

But acai is only part of the equation for the restaurant. The acai fruit is pureed and semi-frozen and then used as the foundation of an entire bowl of ingredients. The menu at Fruitful Acai Bowls will feature about 10 bowls. Some of them are as simple as the Lawrence Bowl, which includes organic acai topped with strawberries, banana, granola and honey.

Others, though, are more complex, like the Honey Bee Bowl. It features acai, but also includes pineapple, cashews, cacao nibs, toasted coconut, granola, honey, and — get this — bee pollen.

Again, if you hang out in certain health food circles, you may already be aware of bee pollen. But my health shape isn’t a circle as much as it is a blob, so I wasn’t aware of bee pollen as a food ingredient. Mr. Google tells me bee pollen “collects on the bodies of bees as they fly from one flower to another.” And, yes, to collect it, you really do kind of scrape it off the bees. I’ll keep my eyes open for restaurants featuring house-made bee pollen. That could be interesting to watch — from a distance.

Regardless of whether you get your acai bowl with a dose of bee pollen, Anderson thinks they’ll be popular with Lawrence residents.

“I think people will like that it is really refreshing,” Anderson said. “It is filling as well. It is packed with nutrients. You can use it as a meal or use it as snack.”

Other toppings on the menu include peanut butter, raspberries, blueberries, goji berries, raisins, chia seeds, flax seeds and even shaved chocolate.

In addition to the fruit bowls, the business also will use the acai to make smoothies, with some of those involving ingredients like spinach and kale, in addition to all the fruit and nut options.

Anderson plans to have Fruitful Acai Bowls open at 4000 W. Sixth St., Suite F, by mid-to-late April. The shop is not part of a chain, but rather is a local venture. Anderson grew up in Lawrence and has long wanted to own a business. But first, she got her undergraduate and master’s degrees in accounting from KU before she undertook the venture.

“I’ve loved the whole process, so far,” Anderson said of getting the business started.

•••

Now, for some coffee.

Plans have been filed at Lawrence City Hall for a new Scooter’s Coffee location. It is slated for 814 Iowa St., which you may better remember as the former location of the Johnny I’s used car lot.

I reported all the way back in June 2019 that Topeka-based Foust Fleet Leasing had purchased the old car lot property. It had planned to do some fleet sales out of the location. But that plan never developed, although the company continues to own the property.

The latest plans call for the small building on the site to be demolished and an even smaller coffee kiosk building to be constructed.

If you aren’t familiar with Scooter’s, it is all about coffee in your car. You should be familiar with the concept, as there is a Scooter’s location just up the street from this proposed location. The area at Ninth and Iowa, next to the new QuikTrip, is home to a Scooter’s Coffee.

Plans for the new location show a double drive-thru lane and a much larger area for vehicles to stack up than at the existing location. The location, according to the plan, will serve only drive-thru customers. Look for site plan approval from City Hall, with construction starting thereafter.