Supercharge your day with açai bowls, superfood smoothies at new Tacoma cafe

Eternal Soul Bowl, a cafe focused on nutrient-dense açai bowls, fresh-fruit smoothies, hearty toasts and espresso, opens July 1 in downtown Tacoma.

The first 20 guests will snag a free bowl, then all customers on the first day will receive half-off all bowls — and the menu boasts 15 signature options, from the flagship Soul Bowl with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, coconut, chia seeds and honey to the Sunflower with mango, banana, pineapple, cacao nibs, bee pollen, hemp seeds, coconut, almond butter and agave.

Other bowls (starting at $13.99) mix in kiwi, raspberries, pomegranate, goji berries, even Nutella. They are customizable from the base up: Choose a foundation of “Galaxy” (Greek yogurt and açai), just yogurt, super greens or açai with chia pudding, then add chocolate chips or cacao nibs at no extra cost. Additional toppings — fruit, nuts, seed butters, superfood powders — are $1-$2 per serving.

Sweet and savory toasts ($12.99) come three modestly sized pieces to an order, such as the Garlic Artichoke with avocado, garlic aioli, artichokes, basil and black sesame or the Mediterranean with avocado, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic.

Fruit-forward smoothies ($9.99) include The Press, a swirled number with berries, banana, oat milk, flax, beet powder and lemon, and the Green Serene with mango, pineapple, spinach and kale, spirulina and unfiltered apple juice. Sips also hit the superfood latte scene (golden milk, blue lavender, matcha coconut) and good old-fashioned espresso, the beans here roasted in Sumner by Vinyl Coffee.

Building Eternal Soul Bowl in Sumner & Tacoma

The new Eternal Soul Bowl is located in the former Candy Market at 767 Market St., one part of a multistep, city-supported revitalization of the Rialto and Exley apartment buildings on this 9th Street block. Just down the hill, Cove’s Bakery and Palmerston Cellars will join the mix, anticipated later this year.

Cafe owner Jewel Randolph has served her brand of healthy snacks since 2019, starting at farmers markets and then expanding to a brick-and-mortar in downtown Sumner almost four years ago. Her mother worked in Oahu for a spell, explained Randolph, and “I got addicted to açai bowls over there.”

Originally created in Brazil, where the berries grow in the dense flora of the Amazon, then embraced in Hawaii before hitting craze-level on the mainland, açai bowls are much easier to find today than they were a decade ago. But in the 2010s, when Randolph returned home to the South Sound, she struggled to find them in her backyard.

“I would drive to Seattle sometimes to get an açai bowl!” she said.

We can thank local farmers markets and the many entrepreneurs selling food from a tent week after week, often dreaming of a brick-and-mortar of their own, for inspiring Randolph. Through stashing some paychecks from her job as a barista at Cavallo Coffee in Lake Tapps and a small loan from her grandfather, she saved enough money to set up her own tent. She hustled, selling hundreds of bowls at four to five markets a week, including in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup and Orting, and other local events.

Randolph, then in her early 20s, opened a small cafe near the University of Washington Tacoma, but it was tucked away off the main drag. Raised in Bonney Lake, she had been living in Sumner and always kept an eye out for the right storefront in the downtown, where such prime options are limited. She eventually found it at 926 Main St., steps from the revamped Heritage Park, and gave up on Tacoma.

Then the developers of the Rialto-Exley project, Urban Black and Great Expectations LLC, approached her about moving into the old Candy Market — a corner unit “with a whole lot of lore behind it,” as she wrote on Instagram earlier this year.

“They twisted my arm,” she said, adding they were seeking a tenant that would help “bring health and wellness” to the area. “The love and support that we’ve received from the community — the nerves are gone.”

The “quirky little space” has been transformed, from hidden plumbing and electrical upgrades to the previously rather gnarly basement, now a proper prep kitchen. The walls are painted a moody emerald green with pops of white and gold. Next to the front counter is a fun tropical mural by Tacoma artist Kaitlyn Lloyd. Up a few stairs, a spacious dining room offers tables and rattan chairs; there’s even a large velvet booth in one of two nooks that came with the digs, said Randolph.

“We’re bringing some magic back to this area,” she said.

Newer to the menu are chia puddings ($11.99), forged with full-fat coconut milk, layered with fruit, nuts and other goodies. By next year, after settling into the Tacoma shop, Randolph still plans a nighttime Eternal Soul situation, which she described as an “NA elixir lounge” with lots of herbaceous, botanical drinks “to give you that little edge” without the alcohol.

Eternal Soul Bowl - Tacoma

• 767 Market St., Tacoma, eternalsoulbowls.com
• Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Details: new health-focused cafe with ample seating open as of July 1, order at the counter for dine-in or to-go (advance online ordering coming soon); follow instagram.com/eternalsoulbowl for updates

Eternal Soul Bowl - Sumner

• 926 Main St., Sumner, 253-297-0069,
• Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.