ORANGE PARK - At Rush Bowls, you don’t have to choose between sweet and nutritious. You get both.

The franchise recently opened its doors on Blanding Boulevard and is changing the way people consume fruits and vegetables.

“We offer natural blended fruit and veggie bowls,” said franchisee Patty Carroll. “Topped with honey and granola and then a topping of your choice.”

The new restaurant also has fresh smoothies, slight bites and unique pup bowls.

Originally launched in Boulder, Colorado, in 2004, founder Andrew Pudalov left New York’s fast-paced financial scene to follow his dream of creating the restaurant. Now, Carroll and co-owner Mark are carrying the torch onward as the fourth location in Florida.

Customers can order a wellness bowl to "get back on track," a destination bowl to ‘find your escape’ or an endurance bowl to ‘dig deep.’ Whether topped with kale and avocado, strawberries and bananas or chia and flax seeds, Carroll said customers can make a wide variety of healthy pairings.

Carroll said the "bowl-ristas" begin by blending a customizable juice or milk with up to 5 servings of fruit or vegetables. She said that it creates a smooth, textured base from there.

For example, their signature Beach Bowl blends acai, mango, banana and guava juice, while their Power Bowl contains blueberry, banana, raspberry, vanilla whey, oats and types of milk.

As a healthy twist, customers can also add further health-boosting ingredients to their blend, including matcha, spirulina or the ‘dragon fruit’ pitaya, which are all rich in antioxidants.

Additionally, Carroll said Rush Bowls doesn’t offer refined or processed sugar for an all-natural sweetness. She said honey is probably the sweetest thing you will find there.

“The only sugar in it is the naturally occurring sugars from the fruits and the juices,” she said. 

Carroll said this customization is what makes them unique. As she and her family are huge fans of acai bowls, she said they noticed the county lacked fresh options. And, they wanted to bring something different.

“Some of the other franchise chains have bowls, but they’re not blended fresh,” she said. “They’re not as customizable [and] that really drew us to Rush Bowls. One, the variety, and then two, the customization. It’s just something you don’t really see around very often.” 

As the new location takes off, Carroll said they want to expand eventually. For now, she said they will continue to bring healthy food options to the local area.

“Most of the feedback we’ve had has been all positive,” she said. “And, just very grateful that we’ve brought something like this to Clay County. "