Iowa State grads open Frutta Bowls in Ankeny next to their Garbanzo Mediterranean cafe

Two Iowa State graduates recently opened Frutta Bowls in Ankeny and are co-branding it with their Mediterranean-inspired cafe, Garbanzo, which is next door.

“Frutta Bowls is a good companion for Garbanzo because it’s all based on wholesome foods,” said Irangel Gonzalez, who owns the restaurants with his wife Julie. “We make everything in-house at Frutta just the way we do at Garbanzo. Both places have the same fresh, health-conscious goals and mindset.”

Frutta Bowls adds a snack component to complement Garbanzo’s savory menu, Julie said.

“With the small amount of space Frutta Bowls requires and the extra space we have at Garbanzo, it was a no brainer to co-brand,” she said. “We went to several other Frutta Bowls locations and loved the food. The base of the acai bowl is the perfect texture and not too frozen like ones I’ve had in the past.

“It’s fresh and delicious but not too sweet. Plus, you can add Nutella, and you can never go wrong with Nutella.”

Frutta Bowls opened in Ankeny on Jan. 28 and is located at Northview Shopping Center, 1550 N. Ankeny Boulevard, next to Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh.

The fastest growing superfoods cafe in the country, Frutta Bowls’ specialties are customizable bowls with bases of acai, kale or bright pink dragon fruit, also known as pitaya. The bases are topped with granola and fresh fruit like pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi and mango, which is all prepped in-house from whole fruits.

Other menu items include smoothies, oatmeal bowls, toasts and protein bites. Additional topping choices, along with Nutella, include almonds, honey, peanut butter and dark chocolate.

Irangel Gonzales said Frutta Bowl food is more than just a meal or snack. It also serves as a fuel to stimulate the mind and energize the body.

“We make our own acai in house every day,” he said. “Every day we’re prepping acai, slicing whole pineapple and mango and kiwis. We slice strawberries fresh for each order so they have a great consistency.”

Irangel Gonzalez grew up in Puerto Rico, where he discovered at a young age that he enjoyed cooking for his family. Although Garbanzo has a Mediterranean-inspired menu, the two cultures use many of the same seasonings, he said.

“The cumin, paprika, turmeric and garlic — those are all pretty similar, great flavors that emerged around the world,” he said.

Gonzalez was drawn to Iowa to attend college on a baseball scholarship.

“First I came to Upper Iowa University and then I transferred to Iowa State,” he said. “I was going to walk on at Iowa State, but the baseball program got canceled that year.”

Irangel Gonzalez, with a liberal arts bachelor’s degree, planned to be an ESL teacher after graduation, but instead got involved in management at the McDonald’s restaurants in the Ames area.

He was the operations director for multiple locations for about 20 years, “so I was part of that community for a long time.”

Restaurant ownership led to meeting Marcus Lemonis, star of 'The Profit'

“I decided to open my own restaurant in 2019 and bought a Simple Greek franchise,” Irangel said. “We converted to Garbanzo in 2021 because the flavors resonated more with me. They are more familiar.”

His excursion into The Simple Greek gave Irangel the chance to work with Marcus Lemonis, the star of CNBC’s “The Profit.” On the series, Lemonis invests in businesses and advises them on changes to become more profitable.

“We met Marcus in Philadelphia at a Simple Greek conference. It was good. He has a different personality, for sure; he’s very straightforward. You’re going to hear whatever he’s thinking, that’s for sure. Good or bad, it’s going to come out,” Gonzalez said with a laugh.

In 2021, Lemonis sold The Simple Greek to WOWorks, the parent company of Saladworks, which also owns Garbanzo.

Julie Gonzalez is also an Iowa State grad, with a master’s in genetics. She runs the biotechnology program at Des Moines Area Community College, where she’s been an instructor for 15 years. She helps out at the restaurants on the side, as do their two children.

She said the focus on using whole foods is important to both restaurants.

“We want to make sure we’re serving fresh, healthy, real food with our proprietary recipes,” she said. “Our potatoes for our fries come in as whole potatoes. We cut them in-house and they go out as fries.”

There’s no sugar added to any menu items. “We don’t even have sugar in our kitchens,” Julie said.

Each restaurant has an exterior entrance, and they are also connected inside, so groups can choose from both eateries’ menus. This is especially helpful for diners who have dietary restrictions, such as gluten or dairy allergies, she said.

“It really helps people dine out and enjoy that feeling of community, which can be difficult when they’re dealing with a restricted diet,” she said.

Frutta Bowls is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Online ordering is available and delivery is through third-party services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub and Door Dash.

The Gonzalezes have a big focus on catering for any size group, from in-home parties to larger special events.

“We recently catered for a couple fraternity houses in Ames,” Irangel said.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa State grads open popular fast-casual cafe Frutta Bowls in Ankeny