Acai bowl takeout coming to Downtown Food Village following commission approval
By SARA HALL
Plans for a fruit-focused franchise restaurant with design elements unique to Laguna Beach was unanimously approved by a city board this week for the Food Village in Downtown.
The Planning Commission voted 5-0 Wednesday (Feb. 15) in support of a conditional use permit to convert an existing take-out restaurant at 217 Broadway St. (previously Slapfish) to an Acai Republic, a Brazilian bowl and juice bar with 10 other Orange County locations.
Plans call for several special design features that make the new location one-of-a-kind, including a showcase of then-and-now photos of Laguna Beach from a Brazilian artist and his great-grandniece taken several decades apart.
There was some discussion about what acai is (including staff jokingly guessing how to say the name of the often-mispronounced berry – the correct way is ah-sigh-ee) and whether or not the food would be considered a dessert use. Ultimately, commissioners agreed it wasn’t a dessert and included an amendment to the resolution in their motion for approval to reclassify it as takeout use.
Commissioner Steve Kellenberg was excited to see the project come to the Downtown.
“This is exactly what we need in town. It is distinctive, it is unique,” he said. “I don’t even know what it is, actually, so I’m kind of looking forward to figuring it out.”
Commissioners also agreed that the new store will be a good addition to the Food Village, although its interior location is a challenge.
It’s a tough spot, said Commission Chair Pro Tem Ken Sadler, but Carmelita’s is a now a successful anchor and the recently approved plans for a fresh look and improved patio will help. Acai Republic can hopefully complement the area and do better than some of the other smaller restaurants that have previously tried, he added.
“Based on what’s been in that courtyard in the past, I see it as a step up, an upgrade, in terms of character,” he added.
They ask formula-based businesses to do something to make it a little bit different from the other locations and the applicants did that in this case, Sadler said.
The applicants made it stand out, agreed Commissioner Steve Goldman. It can be a difficult site, but they are going into it with their eyes open, he added.
“It is technically formula-based, but I see this as something a little bit more unique and a little bit different,” he said. “It’s nice to have young couples, starting entrepreneurs, coming in and opening things in Laguna.”
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Rendering by Acai Republic/courtesy of City of Laguna Beach
A rendering of the interior menu and counter of the Acai Republic proposed for Downtown
They are also active in the community and both volunteer their time, Goldman added.
A few of the commissioners also commented on the fun and trendy vibe of the restaurant.
“I like all the energy around it, it feels new and energetic,” said Commissioner Susan McLintock Whitin.
The highway-fronting site is developed with a Mediterranean revival commercial building (Food Village) consisting of three restaurant tenant spaces: A full service Mexican restaurant Carmelita’s; a vacant take-out establishment space most recently occupied by a seafood restaurant Slapfish and a vacant space most recently occupied by Chinese restaurant Kaowok Asian Bistro. The Food Village restaurants flank an outdoor patio area with 60 seats shared by all three tenants. The new restaurant will provide seating for 15 people.
Associate Planner Arlen Beck explained that Acai Republic’s proposed hours of operation are 7 a.m.-9 p.m., seven days per week, which are similar to other restaurants in the vicinity. Staff included an option for the restaurant to extend the hours until 10 p.m. in the approved resolution.
There will not be any exterior modifications to the building, except for new signage.
The menu includes bowls that feature acai blended with other fruits and granola, coconut or other fruit toppings. They range in price from about $9 to $14. The shop also offers various fruit smoothies, juices, breads and Brazilian pastries.
Staff initially suggested the “dessert” use classification based on the high sugar content of the menu items and because of the offerings of Brazilian pastries. The Downtown Specific Plan allows for up to 15 dessert uses (there are currently seven).
“The classification of this business is up for debate,” Beck said.
After some discussion with the applicant noting that the bowls are often full meals and clarification that the pastries are empanadas that often include meat and cheese, the commission decided to change the use to “takeout.”
There are currently no other businesses in the Downtown area that offer acai bowls.
“Staff believes that adding acai bowls to the Downtown area will help enhance and diversify the offerings available,” Beck said.
A typical Acai Republic interior includes a purple accent wall, subway tile, mural and reclaimed wood.
“Each of these elements have been altered to make the Laguna Beach location unique,” Beck said.
The proposed indoor wall artwork is “quite different” from the murals in every other location, Beck explained. At the Downtown location, the mural will show Acai Republic’s path to Laguna Beach. All subway tile be eliminated. The typical purple wall will be a brick façade and the reclaimed wood look will be changed to a natural finished wood. The exterior sign will also be a circular logo rather than the standard spelled out name.
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Rendering by Acai Republic/courtesy of City of Laguna Beach
A rendering of the interior of the Acai Republic proposed for Downtown showcasing then-and-now photos of Laguna Beach by a Brazilian artist and his great-grandniece
There will also be a gallery of images from Cesar Papa, a Laguna Beach artist and Brazilian native who took photos of the city in the 1980s. They will be displayed alongside photos of the same locations taken by his great-grandniece, Laura Papa. Over the course of six years, she assembled a collection of nearly 800 documents (artwork, letters and more) from her great-uncle’s life. They’ve guided her on a project as she retraced his steps on her own journey.
The applicants for the new restaurant, Mo and Topher Reynoso, a local husband and wife team, wanted to make the Downtown location special and different compared to other Acai Republic stores.
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