Tyler's Grill offers açaí bowls during a trial period

Tyler’s Grill, a dining location on campus known for its burgers, wraps and smoothies, temporarily added açaí bowls to its menu as possible new items last week.  

Açaí bowls are a trendy and healthy food option consisting of a frozen smoothie base, often containing açaí berries, and various nutritional toppings such as fruit and granola. The bowls can be purchased at local health-food hot spots, such as Ginger Juice and The Pit and The Peel, but they are not permanently available at any dining location on the University of Richmond campus.

Tyler’s offered three types of bowls to the crowd of students who lined up to try them during Thursday's the three hours of the trial period: triple berry, tropical rainbow and crunchy apple peanut butter.

Maya Vincelli, assistant director of retail operations in dining services, handed out feedback forms to customers who had purchased the açaí bowls as they were leaving.

“We want to know if you liked it, first and foremost, and if the expectation of size was there,” Vincelli said. “Obviously, Tyler’s has a pretty robust smoothie program here already that people really love, so it made a lot of sense to try this out.”

The feedback form also asked customers for their opinion on the price of the products, which ranged from $6.99 to $7.19.

Vincelli said that, depending on customer feedback, these açaí bowls had the potential to become permanent installations on the Tyler’s menu.

Contact social media manager Gabriela Telepman at gabriela.telepman@richmond.edu.