Entertainment > Dining

Posted on Fri, Jun. 12, 2009

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New businesses Berkeley Blends and Gyro Cart offer a taste of the entrepreneurial.

BY DENISE NEIL

The Wichita Eagle

Jenny Bowen discovered her inner entrepreneur early in life.

As a child, she once collected roly poly bugs and tried to peddle them around the neighborhood. When she failed to make a single sale, her dad bought out her inventory.

Now, the adult Bowen is back at it with another off-the-wall concept. But this one's far more palatable.

Bowen, a 20-year-old Wichita State University student, just debuted her new smoothie business at the Farm and Art Market in Old Town.

Called "Berkeley Blend," the business offers one thing -- fruit smoothies whirred together in a blender attached to the back of a bicycle that's operated solely on pedal power.

"I'm just doing it because I think Wichita will benefit from it," she said. "I want it to get people interested in eating better and getting exercise. If I make money at it, that's fabulous."

Bowen is just one young entrepreneur getting attention with her new and offbeat food venture.

Two others are Travis Hatfield and Nick Srour, 22-year-old buddies who recently started selling gyros from a mobile cart after hours in Old Town.

The business, called Gyro Cart, aims to capitalize on the lack of mobile eating options in Wichita. In their first weekend in business, the guys successfully lured a healthy crowd of hungry bar patrons with few late-night options.

Bowen's idea was born from her own love of bicycling.

She'd seen the bike-blender advertised and was intrigued. It combined two of her passions -- bicycling and healthy eating. The blender was designed to work with a bicycle Bowen had been wanting to buy anyway, so she purchased both.

During her first week in business, she sold about 50 mango-papaya-banana smoothies for $4.50 each. Only about a third of the customers chose to pedal-blend their own smoothies. One of Bowen's assistants is happy to do the footwork if customers aren't interested.

Berkeley Blend will be back at the market this Saturday -- and for at least the next five Saturdays -- with a new flavor each week. (This week's will be some sort of berry concoction, Bowen says.)

She's set up in the northwest corner of the Farm & Art Market square. (Follow the sound of the whirring.)

Hatfield and Srour also will be selling their gyros tonight and Saturday night in Old Town.

Both are otherwise employed -- Hatfield at his parents' car lot and Srour at his parents' restaurant, N&J Cafe. But the two recognized a prime after-hours opportunity.

"We thought, 'What if we had something like this on the streets where you're leaving the bar late at night and you can get something that's good and something that's healthy?' " Hatfield said.

The buddies are buying their gyro-making supplies wholesale from N&J and selling the sandwiches for $5 each from a cart they built themselves. Hummus and pita chips are an extra $2.

Last Friday -- their first night in business -- they sold about 45 sandwiches, served warm and topped with cucumber sauce, tomatoes and optional jalapenos.

Tonight, they'll be in front of the bars at Douglas and Washington. On Saturday, they'll be on Mosley near Heroes. They plan to be carting from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. both nights.

Hatfield says they hope to eventually open the Gyro Cart downtown during weekday lunch hours as well.

Now you know

• See Jenny Bowen's Berkeley Blends in action at videos.kansas.com

• Follow Gyro Cart on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gyrocart