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Each week, we want to highlight one of our favorite restaurants in Tucson!
Superfoods have quickly become the go-to for health-conscious diners craving a convenient, nourishing meal packed with powerful ingredients. As this trend gains momentum, Nautical Bowls has found a new home in Oro Valley, thanks to Bri and Jake Schoenleben, who brought the franchise from Minnesota to Arizona.
“We used to live in Minnesota where a friend’s family started Nautical Bowls and they decided to franchise it,” said Jake. “We then said, ‘Well, we’re moving Arizona — let’s bring it with us! We love it here in Tucson. I don’t have to worry about my snowblower anymore. Right now, all of my friends are trying to start up their snowblowers to make sure they’re prepped and ready. I’m so done with that!”
New to superfood bowls? No worries — the Nautical Bowls team makes it easy to navigate the menu, offering nutrient-packed bowls that cater to all tastes.
“It’s basically fruits and berries broken down into a sorbet form,” Jake added. “A lot of people think we’re yogurt or ice cream — we’re not, even though we are still super, very, super tasty. But we have the nutrients and the other parts to make it a superfood with the berries and other ingredients we put in them, along with the toppings we have.”
The menu is all bowls and smoothies — something you can eat on the go. You can build your own bow but a couple of popular options include The Nauti Bowl (a bowl that’s far from naughty) is packed with açaí, pitaya, granola, banana, cacao nibs, and peanut butter, and the Protein Bowl. The latter is stacked over the top of the bowl with açaí, cacao chia, granola, peanut butter, bananas, protein crumbles, and hemp seeds.
However, if you can’t decide on which to order, Nautical Bowls in Oro Valley has a unique option: a superfood bowl flight.
“Our flights are three of our most popular bowls,” said Jake. “We give you three five-and-a-half-ounce bowls that include The Nauti Bowl, The Paddle Bowl, and The Sunrise Bowl. We also had a local woodworker make us little surfboard flight boards. We’ve met so many fun people throughout the process of doing it.”
And, for those with dietary restrictions, there’s good news: everything on the menu is gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free.
Though Nautical Bowls didn’t originate in Tucson, the Schoenlebens are committed to supporting the local community. They source ingredients from local grocery stores and nearby farmers markets to keep the menu as local as possible.
They’ve also become actively involved in the Tucson community, attending events like this year’s Tucson Comic-Con, and establishing a presence at various venues.
“We’re also at all the Tucson Roadrunner games. We signed the contract to be set up at all those games along with concerts at the TCC,” said Jake. “We’re also inside the Sporting Chance Center. We give back a lot, too — giving 10% back to all the school events and sporting events we cater, and then we give 20% to fundraisers happening at those schools as well.”
The idea of teaming up with the TCC and other businesses in Tucson began like how most friendships form — a simple conversation.
“The reason why we got the contract with the Tucson Convention Center is because a friend of ours had dietary restrictions,” said Jake. “They said, ‘Hey, I go to Tucson Roadrunner games and I can’t eat anything there. You guys should go there so people like me can eat something.’ So, that’s how that started! Then, it’s just been a lot of community stuff that’s connected us with everything. We’re inside LA Fitness and we’re inside El Conquistador and those partnerships have been amazing.”
It’s clear that Nautical Bowls has found its place in Tucson’s culinary scene, and the Schoenlebens are thrilled to be part of the local community.
“In Minnesota, we had ‘Minnesota nice’ but for us down here, it’s been amazing. People have been genuinely nice. We didn’t know what to expect moving down here, but for the last three years we’ve definitely met a lot of people that have been amazing for us.”
Looking to reach more customers in Tucson, the Schoenlebens are working on launching a Nautical Bowls food truck.
“Actually, I’ve been building it with two of my neighbors,” said Jake. “They’ve been helping me out quite a bit, and we’ve been working on it for the last couple of months. We can be on the road with that and also offer a lot more toppings and other things when we go to events.”
Another reason why the Schoenlebens love Tucson and the surrounding areas so much is the food scene. Three years later, they’re proud to be a part of it, and they’re also still trying to find time to eat at them all.
“It’s funny because back in Minnesota, where we lived, we had to drive 20 to 30 minutes to have anything somewhat good,” Jake laughed. “Here, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s about 100 restaurants we still haven’t been to.”
Nautical Bowls in Oro Valley is currently open 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Monday – Saturday and 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sunday (subject to change).
Nautical Bowls is located at 10515 N. Oracle Rd. For more information, visit nauticalbowls.com and follow Oro Valley’s Nautical Bowls on Instagram.
Nautical Bowls is also a Restaurant Partner, meaning that Tucson Foodie Insiders can score $10 off their purchase every 90 days.
For $20 a month, Insiders get a stack of cash vouchers to local restaurants worth over $5,000, free tasting events at local restaurants every month, access to members-only monthly dinner series with local chefs, discounts on events, and monthly mixers with other members. Learn more and join!
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