Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Pittsburgh. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Leila Carter helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
E29: Food Truck to Wellness Haven: Julian de Jong's Aruba Island Bowls Cafe Story
What makes Julian De Jong with Aruba Island Bowls Cafe a good neighbor?
Fresh ingredients, artful presentation, and a passion for wellness converge at Aruba Island Bowls Cafe, Pittsburgh's vibrant haven for health enthusiasts and coffee lovers alike.
Julian de Jong's journey to creating this unique cafe began with a personal health transformation. When his wife Rachel adopted a vegetarian diet due to health concerns, they discovered the incredible world of superfoods—nutrient-dense ingredients that not only looked beautiful but made them feel amazing. That revelation sparked a mission to share these benefits with their community, leading to the launch of their food truck in April 2023 (despite Pittsburgh's notorious spring rains) and eventually their brick-and-mortar location.
What sets Aruba Island Bowls apart is their unwavering commitment to freshness. Every morning at 6 AM, Julian and his team carefully source the best ingredients and prepare everything in small batches. Their creative process focuses on three essential elements: visual appeal (with artistically arranged fruit displays), perfect texture (achieving that ideal creamy-yet-fluffy consistency), and harmonious flavors (thoughtfully combining sweet, tart, and refreshing notes). The result? Smoothie bowls and drinks that aren't just Instagram-worthy but substantial, satisfying meals that fuel the body and mind.
Beyond serving delicious food, Julian has created a community hub where wellness thrives. The cafe hosts yoga classes, entrepreneurial meetups, and partners with like-minded local businesses to foster connection. As Julian puts it, "Our mission is to share the benefits of healthy living while creating a vibrant, supportive community of health-minded, goal-oriented achievers." Whether you're a fitness enthusiast, seeking healthier food options, or simply love gorgeous, flavorful meals, stop by Aruba Island Bowls Cafe to taste the difference that passion, freshness, and community can make. Follow them on social media or visit www.arubaislandbowlscafe.com to learn more about their menu and mission.
To learn more about Aruba Island Bowls Cafe go to:
Aruba Island Bowls Cafe
(412)440 1601
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a coffee shop and acai bowl cafe? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Julian de Jong, with Aruba Island Bulls Cafe. Julian, how's it going?
Speaker 3:It's going great, living the dream.
Speaker 2:Very good Thanks for being here. We're excited to learn all about you and your business.
Speaker 3:So tell us about your company you and your business, so tell us about your company. So yes, we launched Aruba Allen Bulls Cafe on April 1st, on 2023. We started off as a smoothie and acai food truck in the heart of the strip here in Pittsburgh. Later did we learn that opening up a food truck in April in Pittsburgh is not a great idea, because it was raining on us every single day. But uh, hey, that's how we learned and uh, we, we try. Now we have our brick and mortar location as well. We also do the food truck and it's been an adventure ever since.
Speaker 3:We look ourselves as we are an energetic haven for coffee lovers and health enthusiasts here in Pittsburgh. We offer a diverse menu for everyday delicious, refreshing, healthy treats. We also provide a lot of plant-based options for everybody, so we go from freshly roasted coffee to breakfast sandwiches to luscious smoothie bowls and refreshing smoothies as well. I would say what sets us apart from other types of businesses here in Pittsburgh, it's our unwavering commitment to ensure quality and freshness. We really focus on that every single day, and also one of our main things is we focus on elements to make our products unique, elements such as the visual element, the texture element and the flavor element. That's why you'll find that our bowls and smoothies we cut the fruit in an artistic manner so everybody can see how fresh it is, how the inside of the fruit, and we place it up in a, I would say, an artistic manner so everybody can see how fresh it is, how the inside of the fruit, and we place it up in a, I would say, an artistic manner as well to display the freshness and the colors of the fruit. In the texture element, we blend our bowls, our smoothie bowls, every single morning here and we play a lot with the textures. We don't want it too liquidy, we don't want it too icy, so we play around with it as much as needed so we can get that perfect texture that is fluffy and creamy and rich in flavor. And for the flavor elements all our combinations of our bowls and smoothies we try to combine a little bit of acidity, bitterness, for example, if it comes with lemon, you make it refreshing with some pineapple. There's some treat bowls, for example, that strawberry nutella just go hand by hand. So we fuse those together. So you'll find in many of our options and items that we really try hard to mix the flavors as best as we can to create the awesome items we offer and, as I said, all of our recipes and blends. They are crafted in-house daily.
Speaker 3:Every morning we wake up at 6 am and we really take a lot of focus on acquiring the best ingredients. So we have many different providers and we source different fruits and different items from everyone. For all the years of experience we've had, we choose the best ones that we believe are the best, the juiciest, the healthiest ones, so we can display this as well. And then by preparing our products every morning, we also ensure to prepare them in small batches. Products every morning. We also ensure to prepare them in small batches, and that is a key component here with us, because in that way we can ensure the freshness. So that's means the world to us. That's very important for us. So we make everything in small batches pretty much for the day ahead, every single morning, and that's what the customers and people in the community taste. I would say me personally, I always can taste the difference once something is freshly done and not that really sounds delicious.
Speaker 3:They can taste the freshness and flavors literally in every bite.
Speaker 2:How did you get into this business, Julian?
Speaker 3:So I would say I'd say it all began when my wife Rachel she switched to a vegetarian diet because of some health concerns we had, and by doing this, we started a lot of researching. So we searched for healthier, more mindful food options, and then we discovered a world of superfoods. So once we got to see all this the vibrant colors, the nutrient-rich ingredients and then not only do they look bright and beautiful, but they're also delicious, and on top of that, it made us feel incredible. We knew we had something here on our hands. And then, after a lot of experimenting and research, we started incorporating this colorful ingredients into our daily lives. And then the results were immediate we felt more energized, healthier and, overall, just a better quality of life the experience life changing for us. We knew right there and then that we needed to share this with everyone we could. So that is when, on April 1st of 2023, we really took a leap of faith and launched our food truck with the mission to serve delicious, nourishing food to fuel the body and mind.
Speaker 2:Very nice. Are there any myths or misconceptions in your industry?
Speaker 3:Very nice Are there any myths or misconceptions in your industry? Well, I think the one we come across the most is that many people, for some reason, they assume that smoothie bowls or smoothies are a light snack, not a full meal, and that's why here at Aruba Alambos Cafe, we have designed our menu and our portions to be generous, satisfying and packed with nutrients, and we also give the people the choice to they can add protein to anything. Pretty much we have different protein that they can add to the smoothies, to the bowls, and then, with the option to add the protein and other powerful superfoods, we make the meals well-rounded and a nourishing meal that can easily replace a lunch. So you won't be getting out of here hungry. You will leave refreshed and leave full and energized for the whole day, for sure.
Speaker 2:Very good. So we know that marketing is the heart of every business. Who are your target customers and how are you attracting them?
Speaker 3:So for the marketing here at Aruba Island Bowls Cafe, we are deeply committed to supporting wellness and our community within our community. So how we approach it is, we proudly partner with a lot of like-minded local businesses and offer exclusive promotions to their customers and supporters and communities. We are actively we collaborate with health, food or focus organizations. We've held yoga classes, wellness events and entrepreneurial meetups, creating a vibrant, inclusive space for health enthusiasts, creatives and small business owners so we can all gather together here, connect and grow together or, if you're just in the mood, to come and hang out. We also love that very much. So we focus on more health enthusiasts, goal-oriented but, of course, everybody's welcome here. We're a very relaxed space.
Speaker 2:It sounds like you enjoy the community building aspect. Have you ever thought about creating your own podcast?
Speaker 3:Well, to tell you the truth, I've always been a little bit uncertain about that. It's kind of like speaking in public, but it's something interesting. I've always been a little bit uncertain about speaking in public, but it's something interesting and I'm always looking to challenge myself and learn and I think, thinking about it, it sounds very interesting and this is something I really like to do. When I know something very well, I like to communicate that and express that the best way I can, and it's always a learning experience. So that sounds very interesting actually.
Speaker 2:Certainly, I think you'd excel at it. Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:So when this shop, it's a lot of time consuming. So when I'm not here at the shop making sure everything is in order, I'm doing some shopping. We shop every morning to ensure everything is fresh. But outside of it, if I'm not here, I would be at home with my wife, Rachel, and our doggie Charles, and if I'm not at home with them, then I'm definitely at the gym, working out at the gym. For me, the gym has become more than just a place to stay in shape. It's where I recharge mentally and physically. Every time I finish a session a day, I feel so energized, so refreshed and ready to take out anything. I think it's truly a key habit that keeps me balanced and motivated in both life and business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm sure that a lot of your market is focused on wellness too, so it's nice to kind of be in the gym too and like enjoy that hobby that probably so many of your customer base enjoys as well. So, julian, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about Aruba Island Bulls Cafe.
Speaker 3:So one thing they should really know about us well, we were a small, passionate business based here in Pittsburgh, and we definitely started from the grown-up, from scratch, with nothing but determination, grit and a dream. We poured our hearts into building something meaningful for us, something we have a passion for, and our main mission and that's what keeps us going on, because we see how people react, what people tell us, and that just fills us with so much joy. At the end of the day, our mission is to share the benefits of a healthy living with as many people as possible, while creating a vibrant, supportive community of health minded, goal oriented achievers. We're here to remind you and everybody that anything is possible when you believe, when you truly believe in your vision and if you, you give it your all and you never stop moving forward.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love that you said that and it's really to you. It seems like it's about building a community of healthy people, and the acai bowls are kind of a vehicle to do that. So how can our listeners learn more about Aruba Island Bowls Cafe?
Speaker 3:Well, there are many ways, but one of the most up-to-date ones or I think that has the biggest influence nowadays would be following all our social media platforms. You can find us on Instagram, facebook, tiktok, and they're all with the same name Aruba Island Bowls Cafe. And if you want to contact us or see what our items and menus are all about, you can also visit our website, wwwarubaislandbowlscafecom. Or if you want to contact me directly, I have always the phone on me. I get all the emails right away and I try to get them as soon as I can. The email is info at islandbowlsus. Or, if you have time, you can always just swing by in person and we're always happy to talk with everybody.
Speaker 2:Very good, Julian. I appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on our show. We wish you and the business the best moving forward.
Speaker 3:I appreciate you, Thank you for the opportunity and have a great rest of the day everybody.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPPittsburghcom. That's GNPPittsburghcom. That's GNPPittsburghcom. Or call 412-561-9956.