When Dan Goddard and Pete Heth opened Backyard Bowls in 2008, customers did not understand the menu items at the restaurant.
“We were the first in California to specialize in acai bowls,” Goddard said. “For the first six months, every single person who walked through our doors had no idea what we were serving.”
The Santa Barbara community clearly knows now what an acai bowl is. Goddard and Heth are gearing up for Saturday’s official opening of Backyard Bowls’ second restaurant, located in Goleta’s Calle Real Shopping Center. Goddard says that the company has been intent on opening a Goleta location since its inception.
“The Goleta market is great for us,” he said. “It’ll be more of a destination place, with our customers being UCSB students, high school students, and people from high-tech firms.”
Goddard says educating the public about the kind of food Backyard Bowls serves is the No. 1 challenge, but the Santa Barbara community has embraced the eatery, whose original store is at 331 Motor Way just off State and Haley streets.
“Our great neighbors and location, combined with easy access and free parking, makes locals more inclined to come to our restaurant,” he said. “People come to Backyard Bowls because we serve them food that makes them feel good, food that doesn’t weigh you down.”
Backyard Bowls serves up breakfast and lunch fare, and its Acai Bowls — a thick acai-based puree with granola, fruit and honey — are most definitely a hit.
Locals have also responded positively to the environmental and food philosophies set out by Goddard and Heth.
“We don’t see social activism as a choice,” said Goddard. “We’ve known from day one that we’re going to have a green business, the way it should be done. It’s a cost that has been built in from the beginning because of our own moral standards.”
“I couldn’t go to sleep at night knowing I was doing something wrong,” added Heth.
During Saturday’s opening of its Goleta store at 5668 Calle Real, Backyard Bowls will donate 30 percent of its profits to the Wilderness Youth Project.
“We think it’s important to get young people outside and involved with nature and to plant the seed of environmentalism,” said Goddard.
Click here for more information on Backyard Bowls. Follow them on Twitter: @BackyardBowls. Become a fan of Backyard Bowls on Facebook.
— Noozhawk business writer Taylor Orr can be reached at torr@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkBiz, @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.