Downtown Bay Shore is getting its very own Bango Bowls, which will be serving up açaí bowls and cold brew coffees from the tap in time for summer.
The first Bango Bowls opened in Massapequa Park in January.
“It is going great [in Massapequa]. The only problem is the place is too small; it’s tiny,” said Bango Bowls co-owner James Bonanno. “But it’s been so well received that it prompted us to move quickly on a second location.”
The first Bango Bowls is located next to The Tap Room on Park Boulevard in Massapequa Park. The Bay Shore spot will be at 68 East Main Street, next door to Verde Kitchen & Cocktails.
Bonanno, who also co-owns two The Tap Room locations — the other being in Patchogue Village — said Bay Shore is an ideal area for a Bango Bowls.
“It’s a great fit,” he said. “It’s growing and we’re really excited about the quality of the other businesses on Main Street, with even more great places like Toast coming to town.”
While açaí bowls have been around for several years, they’re quickly gaining in popularity up and down the East Coast.
Açaí (pronounced ah sigh EEE) is a purple berry that grows on palm trees in Central and South America. Because it is not a fruit native to the U.S., it is commonly sold in frozen, freeze-dried or powder form.
An açaí “bowl” begins as smoothie blended to the thickness of a sherbet. The frozen açaí berry is the key ingredient; it’s typically pureed with almond milk or coconut milk. The puree is then topped with a variety of fresh sliced fruit, shaved coconut, nut butter and granola.
“I think that they’re very popular because, first and foremost, they taste amazing,” Bonnano said. “But it’s a great healthy alternative to a lot of the other breakfast, snack or lunch options out there. And the coldness of the açaí bowl is just very refreshing.”
“And they’re filling,” he added. “That’s a big part of it; you can have a bowl and it’s a meal.”
Bango Bowls will also feature oatmeal options and a tap system for cold brew coffees (and teas) — such as those from Sail Away Coffee Co. — which are also rising quickly in popularity.
“We treat the taps at Bango Bowls like we treat out taps at The Tap Room, where we rotate different, small batch local coffee brewers,” Bonnano said.
Bango Bowls will also utilize an app for mobile orders.
“In Bay Shore we’ll have a separate counter, so if you order ahead of time with the app you won’t have to wait,” he said.
The name Bango Bowls was conceived as a way to ease the awkwardness people might feel at the counter trying to pronounce the word — or for those who just have no idea what to make of it.
“Not a lot of people know how to pronounce açaí and we though Bango Bowls rolled off the tongue easily and would help with the growth of the brand,” Bonanno said.
Follow Bango Bowls on Facebook.
