Adrian Lopez came a long way from Arizona and the trucking business to San Diego to pursue a new occupation as a food franchisee and to live a healthier lifestyle.
“We’re part of a franchise that’s family-owned,” noted Lopez, who, along with his family members, operates Rush Bowls, serving up acai and fruit-blended smoothie bowls at 1418 Garnet Ave.
The franchise was created in 2004 by CEO Andrew Pudalov, who left finance in New York City to pursue health and wellness instead, opening his first all-natural acai bowl and smoothie bar in Boulder, Colo.
The Lopez family moved into food franchising initially for personal reasons. “After COVID, when everybody was getting sick, we wanted to shift our health and wellness, eat better, work out,” Adrian Lopez said.
Discussing the process Rush Bowls uses in producing acai and smoothie bowls, Lopez said, “Our whole concept is no added sugar – just blend the fruit. We’re the first in San Diego. We’re coming here with a healthier trend, not looking for the soft-serve ice cream that we grew up on. It’s just more blended fruit.”
Added Lopez, “Our bowls are meal replacements for dinner, lunch or breakfast.”
Founder Pudalov created Rush Bowls to offer a fresh, nutritious alternative to traditional fast-casual dining. As demand grew, so did Rush’s menu and the brand’s mission of making healthy eating convenient, approachable, and craveable.
Over the years, Rush Bowls has maintained a disciplined, long-term approach to growth rooted in strong operations, authentic wellness, and innovation. Today, Rush Bowls has grown into a nationally recognized franchise brand with more than 50 locations nationwide and over 100 in development.
Originally from Tucson, Lopez said he often visited Rush Bowl’s Tucson location. It was love at first bite.
“We fell in love with the product with no sugar added,” he said. “We couldn’t believe it was so good, tasty and healthy for you. After a while we said, ‘We should look into [franchising].’”
After having been in the trucking industry moving household furniture in Arizona for over 25 years, switching to food franchising in San Diego was a refreshing departure.
“We wanted something different, something more health-conscious,” Lopez noted.
And Lopez and his family were exactly the type of franchisee Rush Bowls wanted. “They loved our story,” he said. “Anybody can do it. You don’t have to have restaurant experience. So we got into it and moved out here because we knew the (economic) outcome was going to be a lot better.”
The eatery’s menu offers a choice blend of all-natural fruits and veggies plus a wide selection of fresh fruits and toppers, like granola and honey. The menu includes an assortment of smoothies with some high-protein choices such as peanut butter. Rush’s menu also features appetizing bites made with ingredients like coconut, banana bread and granola.
There are also numerous cold coffee brews at Rush Bowls with flavorings like dirty chai, mocha and vanilla sweet.
Rush uses no artificial sweeteners, additives, preservatives or MSG in its products. The franchise is also dog-friendly — there’s even a Bow Wow Bowl on the menu.
Lopez and his family are now converts to eating healthier foods. Now, as a franchise owner, he urges others to come and check out Rush Bowls and see for themselves what healthier dietary choices are all about.
