Cranford Teens Launch Acai Bowl Food Truck—​​At The Shore

CRANFORD, NJ - It began as a business plan sketched on two paper plates during their break at Ono Bowls in Westfield. Now, 2019 Cranford High graduates Benjamin Quinutolo and Chris Giuditta are spending their summer before college slinging acai bowls from an Ono Bowls food truck at the Jersey shore.

"We both have the desire to succeed by any means necessary, whether that means working on a Saturday in Chris’ basement for six hours at a time or putting together the wheels and hitch attachment for the truck on-site at the warehouse with only an hour we are up for the challenge," Quinutolo said.

The duo spent a large portion of their high school careers working part time at the Westfield eatery and it was there that the plan to form an mobile extension of the business developed. They made their pitch to Westfield Ono Bowl owner Patricia Caminos, their boss, and she loaned them money to get them started.

"The idea came from Chris during a shift together and we brainstormed until we came to the idea of a trailer attachment we could parade around the Jersey Shore and any private events," Quinutolo said. "We wanted to go small, eight feet long by six and a half feet high, because it would allow us to be extremely versatile with moving from location to location and allow us to cater to almost any private event, even if it has limited space. Additionally, food trucks are most cost-efficient and have a faster return on investment which is important when the two of us do not have the capital to remain in debt when we are entering college."

And they are going to college this fall. Quinutolo, a self-described gardener, environmentalist, and entrepreneur, is headed to the University of Delaware to study food science. For his part, Giuditta, a self-described business enthusiast and beach guru is going to the University of Maryland to study finance and business.

Both majors are a good combination for running a food truck, and the pair says their interest goes back to their childhoods.

"We are both Italians so naturally, we are interested in food. Nevertheless, our passion for providing healthy food to the people on the beach grew from working at the Westfield Ono Bowls location," Quinutolo said.

Quinutolo has worked at Ono Bowls since the very first day three and a half years ago and Giuditta has worked there for two and a half years. Both took on larger responsibilities as time carried on Quinutolo ran the entire store for two months during his sophomore year and Giuditta provided crucial business insight, according to Caminos.

"Our interest in foodservice and interest in eating food culminated into a relationship that would change the course of our lives forever," Quinutolo said.

Giuditta suggested starting a food truck with him to bring Açai bowls to the people of the beach that upcoming summer.

"I was taken aback by the random endeavor but I agreed and we started planning how we would run it on two paper plates," Quinutolo said. "The idea floated from an actual food truck to a trailer attachment that was custom made to serve Açai bowls and smoothies. We invested almost all the capitol from our bank accounts and took out a loan from Patricia. Those plates were the start of our endless perseverance to get the Ono Cart up and running for the summer of 2019."

Quinutolo said it was a no-brainer that their extension business reference their roots.

"The name came from our mother company Ono Bowls from Patricia Caminos whose husband Gilbert Caminos is a Hawaiian Native — giving the name Ono which means delicious in Hawaiian," Quinutolo said. "We carry that name with pride and honor because of all the love and guidance we have received from the Caminos along our journey."

As for the menu, the teens said the menu is simple, eye-catching, and customizable.

"We limited our menu to eight acai and pitaya bowls and seven smoothies. Each item, especially smoothies, have unique flavor profiles and appearances. My personal favorite, the Rocky Shores Açai bowl, resembles the beach. Additionally, we offer almond butter, almond milk, coconut milk, peanut butter, our hand-crafted granola, and our homemade chocolate spread," Quinutolo said. "We strive to be dairy-free, gluten-free and accommodating of any possible allergies to give anyone a chance to try one of our irresistible products."

The best seller at the food truck is a clear one. The Ono Classic Açai bowl.

"That is served with our Açai, hand-crafted granola, bananas, blueberries and strawberries," Quinutolo said. "It gives the customer a real taste of the quality of food an Ono bowl provides in every bite."

• Facebook: Ono Bowls Food truck
• Instagram: OnoBowlsdts
• Email: Onobowlscart@gmail.com

The duo posts an image and lists the three to four stops throughout the day to inform people when they will be in a certain area. Special requests and catering events can be accessed by emailing or messaging in private on social media. To find locations more accurately they use the snapchat map that allows customers to track them up to the minute by opening up the map and searching their name which reveals their current locations.

As for the future, there are no plans of slowing down.

"We would like to elevate our presence down the shore and throughout New Jersey for more private events and to network. We love to network and make connections not only for the success of the business but to create a long-term relationship with other companies for our future business and other endeavors," Quinutolo said. "We would like to open up several more mobile trucks or a storefront somewhere on the Jersey shore to further become one with our market. Our goal is to spread the health and pay for our college tuition."

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