Fruition Bowls and Brews offers healthy and affordable food
Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
From left,
Mabel Jetten, Leandro Culp and Sara Bates
Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
Photos: Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
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Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
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Courtesy of Fruition Bowls and Brews
By Jill Thurston
Fruition Bowls and Brews may have been born out of the setbacks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, its success comes from its owners’ hard work and determination, who overcame those obstacles to offer delicious, affordable, health-conscious food.
The popular “smoothie bowl” and coffee destination opened in Waynesburg in December 2020 and was the inspiration of three friends: Leandro Culp, his sister Mabel Jetten, both of Waynesburg, and Sara Bates of Rices Landing. For each, entering the restaurant industry was a departure from their traditional jobs.
Bates is a school administrator, Culp is a safety coordinator with Cumberland Mine and Jetten is a mother of two and a hairstylist.
“During the pandemic, we were spending a lot of time indoors. My sister was unable to practice her occupation, Sara was working remotely and it led to us formulating a bunch of ideas of what type of business we would be interested in,” Culp said.
Culp had a longtime interest in eating healthy, and he said each of them considered places they visited across the country, compared what they liked and thought might work and then formulated a plan.
“It was important to us to have ‘carry out friendly’ food during the time you weren’t allowed to eat indoors, or you could only have a certain number of people inside. We wanted something fast and something healthy. We took inspiration from other places we’d been to and put our own unique flair on it,” Culp said.
“We put the emphasis on the smoothie bowls, which is really our calling card,” according to Culp.
“Bowls” have become popular menu items lately for any meal. All of the fare is served in one dish, and the ingredient options are endless.
Fruition’s signature smoothie bowls are made with fruit blended with a liquid or juice, layered with fresh-cut fruit and then topped with a scoop of peanut butter, sprinkled with granola and drizzled with honey or Nutella.
Culp admits when describing it to people, they’d get a lot of strange looks at first and questions. “You are doing what? And you’re not having french fries?” Culp would explain, “No, it’s a healthy twist on some good-tasting food.”
“We don’t want it just to be healthy. We want it to taste good. We take a lot of pride in our menu offerings, so we can account for people who aren’t used to this type of food, and we want to have something for everyone. If smoothies or smoothie bowls aren’t your thing, it’s likely you drink coffee or you want cold-pressed juice, avocado toast or fruit cups,” he said.
It was a learn-as-you-go process for them. “Everything we’ve done, we’ve had to learn; nothing was gifted, everything was earned,” said Culp. The pandemic presented its own challenges. Culp recalls dealing with regulatory restrictions regarding masking, occupancy, and health-related limitations, including cleaning and sanitizing. “And after that came supply chain issues, coordinating with our different suppliers and distributors and making sure the fruit got here on time, the bowls or the lids arrived when they were supposed to. And then came inflation. We’ve had to adjust our prices a couple of times just to account for drastic spikes in the cost of produce. We are loath to raise the prices, but when it comes down to it, it’s either that or we don’t have a business. Margins in the restaurant industry are thin just as an inherent way of doing business,” he said.
To their advantage, Waynesburg-based Hilltop Packs Coffee opened at about the same time as Fruition. “We didn’t have any background in coffee, but it just so happened that Hilltop Packs built up almost alongside us and provides us with espresso beans. It’s a unique blend for us. We thought it was a good opportunity to source locally. Plus, it sets us apart,” Culp said.
Once the three decided to serve smoothie bowls, offering fruit smoothie drinks was an easy jump. “What do people like with smoothies … avocado toast, and then we developed a bunch of different toast options along with hummus, guacamole (made in-house) and peanut butter. Our bread and butter is making things in-house, from scratch,” Culp said.
The PB&J Bowl, filled with bananas and strawberries, he said, is by far and away the most popular of the menu items. Kids especially love it.
Fruition also offers waffles and turkey wraps along with specials each month featuring two smoothie bowls in particular.
In addition to the community, nearby Waynesburg College offers a pool of both patrons and talent. Each of the owners continues to work second jobs, so having good team members is essential. “‘We’ve been really very fortunate to have good employees,” Culp said.
On the heels of the success of the Waynesburg store, Culp and friends opened a second store in Morgantown in November 2021.
Hours for the Waynesburg store are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on Thursday.
The Morgantown store is open daily 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Visit fruitionbowlsandbrews.com for more information.