A new smoothie place took over the spot of Rollin N’ Bowlin (RnB) in the Community Commons starting this academic year. But how does it compare? From products and ingredients to prices and operations, the switch to Natural is an upgrade for the DU community.
Rollin’ N Bowlin’ was a third party chain created by young entrepreneurs from Texas, but after operating in the Commons for a year and a half, “when [they] saw that there was no revenue for them, they pulled out,” according to Claudia Bernal, the Director of Operations and Retail for Sodexo at DU.
Natural’s smoothies are $2 to $5 cheaper than those that RnB sold, though they are slightly smaller. Not only are drinks and toast cheaper than what was offered last year, but you can also use a daily meal swipe at Natural.
From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., you can use a meal swipe to pay for a smoothie, a toast or a fresh squeezed juice. At 10:30 a.m., when the meal swipe period ends, they start selling paninis – another concept from Sodexo called Press. “We can’t just do smoothies and toast as RnB was doing, so we brought Press [and Natural] together and made it work,” said Bernal.
Smoothies are $7.00 for an 8 oz. cup, the two toast options are $4.50 each and the paninis range from $7.00 to $11.00. The avocado toast with tomato and olive oil is delicious and a good price for two pieces of bread.
Their smoothies range from generic flavors like strawberry banana to the unique and tasty honey almond.
Coconut water based drinks:
Pineapple coconut is certainly an eye catcher but is actually one of Natural’s weaker smoothie options. It is pretty chunky and the coconut flavor didn’t come through much, even though they use coconut toasted in house (which is pretty delicious when you get a chunk of it). The pink lemonade smoothie gets its color from peach and strawberry, but has a tart sweetness from the house-made lemonade.
Orange juice based drinks:
Mango mint is simple but fresh and sweet with a smooth texture and had the perfect amount of mint which was a creative touch. Strawberry banana is simple and tastes just as you would expect it to, but it is even more delicious with peanut butter and chia seeds.
“[Our] orange juice and apple juice are both made in house. We have our own recipe to make the peanut butter [as well], everything as much as possible is natural and fresh,” said Bernal.
Almond milk based drinks:
The almond milk drinks are surprisingly delicious, especially the honey almond one, which is a popular choice for returning customers. It was creamy, nutty and the full almonds blended very well, creating a smooth texture. The chocolate almond tastes almost like a banana-based milkshake, but still isn’t overly sweet and doesn’t feel artificial.
“To make sure you get your vitamin C, your protein from the drink, we have add-ons like protein and peanut butter,” said Bernal.
Apple juice based drinks:
The only apple juice smoothie is the cherry berry, which perfectly balances the berries for sweetness and the cherries for a tart flair. It has a smooth texture and a classic taste, but with the unique addition of sweet bing cherries.
Paninis:
There are five different types of paninis, which have apparently been very popular since Natural’s opening, especially the chicken pesto. The tomato mozzarella was $7 and honestly pretty underwhelming. There were only the two simple ingredients and the tomato mozzarella on focaccia from Starbucks is honestly better, and is even slightly cheaper and more filling.
That’s not to say that the other paninis aren’t delicious, considering the response from students so far and the fact that they seem to have more complex ingredients.
“The paninis are a hot sell. We don’t start selling them until 10:30 but by 10:00 [students are] already requesting paninis,” said Bernal.
Toast:
The first choice for toast is between white or cinnamon raisin bread, each of which correspond to one of their topping options. Cinnamon raisin combines best with the peanut butter chia banana topping and white bread fits the avocado tomato combination, which is much better than either of the avocado toasts offered by RnB last year.
Natural also offers mobile order for their products. If you don’t have much time between your classes and need to get some food in you, order in advance through the everyday app to have your drink or panini ready within 10 minutes for you to pick up.
DU’s Natural! is one of around 30 storefronts that Sodexo has implemented at the University level. Our wallets and immune systems are going to be thanking Sodexo for making the switch from Rollin’ N Bowlin’ to a more affordable and versatile option.
