Ceone Nojima remembers working at a well-known café on Oahu. During that time, she fell in love with açaí bowls.
“I love fruit more than anything else, so this beautiful combination of frozen fruit, granola, fresh fruit and local honey on top was the best of all worlds,” she says.
After she finished college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Nojima backpacked around Southeast Asia.
“I met a few people that were young and self-employed; I knew that was something I was interested in as well,” she says.
When she returned from her travels, Nojima moved to Maui and bought a food truck.
“It was a huge risk, since I was completely on my own,” she says. “It took one very intense month of paperwork, painting, building, and researching farms and purveyors before opening on Nov. 16, 2015.
“I worked in the truck alone, six days a week, for two years before hiring my first employee,” Nojima adds. “We now have an amazing small team of motivated young women who work alongside me.”
Baya Bowls is known for its açaí bowls and smoothies. Depending on the size, bowls cost $10-$13. Patrons have the option to customize their açaí further with additional toppings like organic peanut butter, local papayas and pineapples, or seasonal fruits like lilikoi.
“We have perfected our açaí mix with an unsweetened, organic açaí by our local distributor, Tambor; then it’s blended with other berries and local bananas,” Nojima explains. “It’s bold, sweet and slightly tart, creamy and always thick. We then top it with a crunchy, organic granola; thinly sliced locally grown apple bananas; sweet strawberries; freshly toasted coconut and raw Maui honey from Ohana Apiary.”
While açaí bowls are the stars of Baya Bowls’ menu, Nojima says its smoothies are popular as well.
“People come back for the Rise and Grind ($8.50),” she explains. “We use our housemade cold brew coffee, almond milk, chocolate plant-based protein, organic peanut butter and frozen bananas to make a guilt-free morning boost.
“My favorite is the Orange Dreamsicle ($7.50-$8.50), which is made with fresh orange juice, ginger, frozen mangoes, bananas and local bee pollen,” Nojima adds.
Baya Bowls started the new year on an exciting note — running out of its newer, larger food truck.
“For the previous six years, we had been operating out of our original food truck,” Nojima says. “It worked great when we were just starting out, but as we needed more staff and more ingredients stocked, we needed more space. We’re now working so much more efficiently.”
Baya Bowls
741 Wainee St., Lahaina
808-757-8659
Instagram: @bayabowlsmaui
How to pay: Cash, credit cards, Apple Pay
How to order: In person, call or text 808-757-8659, or Doordash for delivery service
