An acai bowl concept from Colorado is opening its first location in east Dallas: Rush Bowls will open a cafe at the neighborhood favorite Casa Linda Plaza shopping center at 9440 Garland Rd. #138.

It’s slated to open in late April, taking over a space formerly occupied by Baldo’s Ice Cream, which closed in late 2023. Owner Scott Gee says an acai concept will fill a void of fast, healthy dining options in east Dallas.

This is the first Rush Bowls franchise location for Scott and his wife Hannah, who co-own the restaurant with their longtime friend and business partner Jared Sutter. The couple lives in Lake Highlands (just north of Casa Linda) and believes the community will be receptive to a quick and easy bowl/smoothie place.

“We love the White Rock Lake area, and the active lifestyle of this area I think speaks to this product,” Scott says.

Rush Bowls launched in 2004 in Boulder, Colorado and currently has more than 50 restaurants across the U.S. They debuted in Dallas in 2018 with a location in Mockingbird Station and have since added locations in Flower Mound, Keller, and Southlake.

The company’s menu consists of acai bowls and smoothies, with a couple of small snack options. Their bowls and smoothies come in several combinations, with build-your-own options and an option for dogs (milk, peanut butter, banana, and frozen yogurt) also available. Options include the following:

• Beach: their signature item, with a base of acai, banana, mango, and guava juice, topped with hemp granola, honey, and one additional topping of choice
• Chai’s Mystique: base of banana, almonds, cinnamon, honey, chai, milk, and frozen yogurt, topped with hemp granola, cinnamon, honey, and one additional topping
• Greens Guru: base of avocado, kale, spinach, peach, pineapple, cucumber, basil, coconut milk, and apple juice, topped with coconut, cucumber, and honey
• PB & J: base of banana, strawberry, peanut butter, milk, and frozen yogurt, topped with hemp granola, peanut butter, jelly, and honey

“They’re bright, vivid, and Instagram-worthy,” Hannah says. “But outside of them being beautiful and very tasty, they’re also nutritionally dense without being super heavy.”

As a health practitioner, she emphasized how energizing the bowls can be, with their robust ingredient list of fruits and vegetables. At the same time, they don’t have the artificial colors or flavoring that come with many fast-casual chains.

At just over 800 square feet, the Dallas restaurant is geared mainly toward takeout and delivery, with a few hightop bar seats inside and less than 10 seats outside. It joins a mix of stores and restaurants in the Casa Linda Plaza, including recent additions Ellen’s and Casa Ramen.

“We have high hopes for this area,” Scott says. “We really like the blend of tenants here, and we have great neighbors.”