Frutta Bowls set to open Fall 2018 after filing for bankruptcy

By Zoe Strozewski | Published by April 25, 2019

The Frutta Bowls franchise has recently filed for bankruptcy protection in the District of New Jersey. However, the administration continues to move forward with plans to open a Frutta Bowls location on Kean’s campus.

Frutta Bowls is a chain that serves acaí bowls, smoothies, toast, oatmeal and organic coffee. The franchise is headquartered in Freehold, New Jersey and has opened approximately 50 stores across 14 states.

According to Margaret McCorry, Kean’s director of media relations, Frutta Bowls was chosen to open a location on campus due to the recent popularity of the acaí and superfood concepts within the college demographic.

“Frutta Bowls was identified for the space in Cougar Hall based on input from students and a financial review of its viability as a campus eatery,” McCorry said.

Despite a ranking on entrepreneur.com as one of the fastest growing franchises of 2019, Frutta Bowls Franchising, LLC filed a voluntary petition for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 15. According to uscourts.gov, a chapter 11 filing typically implies that the company plans on going through a reorganization in order to stay afloat.

Despite the petition for bankruptcy protection, Kean has not halted its affiliation with the franchise.

Kean’s Frutta Bowls will be located on the first floor of Cougar Hall. Freshman Amanda Delio, a current resident of Cougar Hall, said that she was initially intrigued upon hearing that a Frutta Bowls would be opening in her building.

“I thought it was kind of different because I’ve never heard of that before or been to one, so I was super excited to try it and hopefully I can next year,” Delio said.

As the academic year progressed and Frutta Bowls did not open to students, Delio said that she experienced some discontentment.

“I was a little disappointed because I wanted to try it and thought it would have been done while I was still living there,” Delio said.

The outside of anticipated Frutta Bowls has been hung with numerous posters with the company’s logo and text that says the location will be coming soon since the beginning of the fall 2018 semester. These posters cover each of the store’s windows, so any construction taking place on the inside is not visible to the public.

Delio said that any advances in the construction of the location are not evident from the inside of Cougar Hall either.

“I didn’t see any progress or anything. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the doors for Frutta Bowls ever open for people to work on it,” Delio said.

Frutta Bowls is set to open its doors to the public almost exactly a year after it began to be advertised.

“The university continues to work with the franchise on plans to open Frutta Bowls in Cougar Hall for the fall semester,” McCorry said.

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