North Shore News“No partners, no investors, we run it, we build it, we do it all,” says Joe Bard, partner with his wife
Tiana at Banzai Bowls. Joe adds, “Our (three) kids are actively involved, they help make the bowls and
give them away.”
The Bards’ work ethic and determination built their business. Before they met, Joe’s neighbors in California were importing acai from Brazil and selling it out of a freezer chest. From the time Joe was 20
years old, he’d make acai bowls with friends. While Tiana was working in San Clemente, Joe was working as head of marketing and sales for a surf brand when the market crashed. Joe then researched and tested the market and found that there was no place doing acai bowls. “Mother’s Market, a natural food store in California made acai bowls but they were too watery. No juice franchise chains were doing bowls either,” says Joe.
Joe sold Tiana on starting an acai bowl business on the way to a family camping trip. On the way back, the discussion for a name for the business began. “Why not name it Banzai Bowls like the Banzai pipeline where I grew up?,” said Tiana. She also wanted a “mom and pop” place that felt like the Hawaii she knew. “From the beginning, we wanted to start the business in Hawaii, but knew it would be a difficult start here,” says Tiana. So Joe and Tiana started giving out free bowls during North Shore surf events for years before opening their first store.
Their first store was in Costa Mesa, California, which was the product of much prayer and perseverance. “We prayed that our landlord there would give us a chance; we had only $20,000 to our name and he said no at first because he said we weren’t a ‘proven concept.’ When we got denied twice by the bank for a loan, we met with the landlord again and asked him, “Hasn’t anyone given you a chance? We are just looking for a chance,” says Joe.
When the landlord said to first look at the space, Joe and Tiana broke down when they saw it had everything they needed: the tables, chairs, and blenders…Banzai Bowls was born. Joe credits prayer. Joe says, “We prayed, please Lord, please open the door; I told Tiana we were going to pray harder, after every rejection.”
“Our first retail space had sat empty for three years but God put it on our landlord’s heart to give us free rent for the first year, then we negotiated an amortized lease for subsequent years,” says Joe.
“The landlord said he woke up one day and decided to let Tiana and me have everything we wanted in
the lease. The Lord gave our landlord the grace to give us an opportunity to go forward,” says Joe.
They now have five locations in Southern California and two locations on the North Shore, at Sunset Beach and at the Rip Curl building across from Surf N Sea. Today, Joe and Tiana show their gratitude by giving back to the community. “Businesses here should give back…if everyone gave a little, there would be a lot done.” Banzai Bowls teams up with other businesses, such as Rip Curl and Surf N Sea. Joe says, “Let’s team up and be better at what we do.”
“Fruit is life,” says the Bards, and their motto is “Live life in the Bowl.” Joe explains, “It could be a
skateboard bowl, a surf bowl, an acai bowl. Banzai Bowls are made from only local produce grown on family-run farms. We don’t buy from corporate, period.”