Jake Triplett has made a career out of making people happy for the past several years.
Between touring as a standup comedian, podcasting and creating YouTube content, he’s used to giving people a laugh. With his newest business endeavor, he’s hoping to make people smile, albeit in a different way — by handing them a fruity treat.
As a new franchisee for smoothie bowl company Bondi Bowls, he plans to launch his new Johnson County food truck later this year.
The food truck will anchor in Prairie Village
- While an exact address has not yet been pinned down for the food truck, Triplett said he hopes to make Prairie Village its main home base.
- He aims to open Bondi Bowls by late summer or early fall.
- Once it opens, the food truck will likely operate from roughly 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Bondi Bowls serves acai bowls, other sweet treats
- At Bondi Bowls, customers can create their bowls or smoothies with a base of acai, pitaya or blue spirulina (a pineapple base with blue algae).
- From there, customers can add a vast range of toppings.
- Some of those topping options include blueberries, chia seeds, agave and homemade vegan granola.
- The food truck’s bowls are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free.
- In addition to bowls, the Bondi Bowls menu features other items like frozen lemonade, shaved ice and granola power balls.
Triplett has more plans down the line for Bondi Bowls
Eventually, Triplett said he’d like to open a brick-and-mortar store for Bondi Bowls in Johnson County once the truck builds a loyal customer following.
Acai bowls and smoothies have become increasingly popular across Johnson County, with Nautical Bowls and Nekter Juice Bar opening their doors in recent years. As a self-described smoothie bowl enthusiast himself, Triplett said he’s happy to contribute to their local presence.
“It’s a growing industry,” he said. “I like them so much, I just thought, what if I just made my own?”
In a way, he said, his new entrepreneurial pursuit has parallels to his work in content creation and the Kansas City comedy scene. For example, both lean on social media to grow.
“Reaching people and going viral and building a community — these are the things I’ve learned from podcasting for five years and never missing a Monday post,” he said.
But he’s also looking forward to aspects of this new chapter — from leading a team of employees to getting to hand an eager customer the bowl they’ve been waiting for in person.
“It will be something that impacts people, and not in the way that it’s done through likes, comments and shares,” he said. “The smile and (people) bringing their friends, I think that’s what I get excited about.”
Want more food and drink news? New healthy eatery Bonsai Bowl opens in Overland Park
