Opening an eatery is always a risky proposition. Doing so in the middle of a pandemic, with the associated government-mandated restrictions, may seem particularly dicey. But for the husband-and-wife team behind Boost Bowls, the time was simply right to unveil their third location on Oct. 9.
“We”™d been looking at Newtown for a long time,” Tatiana Mehmeti, co-founder with her husband Valdrin of the health-food operation, told the Business Journal. “We”™d owned a bicycle studio (BoostCycle, now under new ownership) here for a few years, and had such a great client base. We really missed it.”
“We love this town,” Valdrin added. “We”™ve thought about moving here. Most of our clients are actually from Newtown.”
That claim is all the more impressive when one takes into account that Boost Bowls began in Bethel; its other store, which opened in 2018, is in Southbury.
That the Newtown operation is at 6 Queen St. in the Big Y Plaza is no coincidence; the pair expect plenty of traffic from Newtown Middle School, where youngsters frequently walk home after classes.
While the former Starbucks space at 34 Church Hill Road ”“ it relocated to 75 Church Hill last year ”“ was tempting, Valdrin said the sight of kids walking down that busy street for refreshments was (and still is) a little hair-raising.
In addition to its trademark bowls filled with the likes of acai, pitaya, quinoa, bee pollen and fresh fruit, the new Boost Bowls also offers a coffee bar ”“ which should satisfy both the caffeinated children and their parents ”“ and an outdoor patio in the rear, which probably will not be ready until next spring.
The 1,350-square-foot Newtown operation will also offer salads, “because there are no really amazing salad places around here,” Tatiana said. “We worked on our own salad dressings for months ”“ that”™s the secret to a really good salad.”
With bright, graffiti-ish colors inside ”“ “art is a big thing for us,” Tatiana said ”“ along with some select greenery and neon touches, Boost Bowls goes beyond what she called the “usual beachy vibe that a lot of juice bars have. A “selfie” mirror near the entrance to the patio provides an additional bit of fun, she added.
Thanks to Covid restrictions, the Newtown store will start off with 15 seats ”“ it can hold 30 chairs max ”“ with the standard six feet between tables. All told, Valdrin envisages 15-20 employees working at the store, which is open from 8 am-8 pm during the work week, 9 am-8 pm on Saturdays and 10 am-5 pm on Sundays.
“We”™ve been lucky,” he said of the pandemic. “Bethel really didn”™t see much of a slowdown. Southbury did, partly because the movie theater shut down (that location is in the lobby of the Riverview Cinemas 8 there), but we”™ve still done okay.
“We were supposed to open here over Memorial Day weekend,” he continued. “But we”™re happy to be here now.”
