Playa Bowls To Open Soon In Manahawkin

MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Playa Bowls is opening shop in Manahawkin. The Jersey Shore favorite hopes to open in the second week of March at 399 N. Main St, according to a company spokesperson.

Playa Bowls will take the former space of Smallcakes Manahawkin. The lease for Smallcakes ended in January, and they decided to look for a new location.

Two Jersey Shore natives and longtime surfers — Robert Giuliani and Abby Taylor — founded Playa Bowls. They traveled to beaches throughout the world and noticed every exotic surf town they visited had its own version of an acai or pitaya bowl.

They brought the idea back to New Jersey, making a deal with a pizza-shop owner on 8th Avenue in Belmar. Giuliana and Taylor bought a blender, patio table, fridge and freezer to create a makeshift pop-up stand on the sidewalk in front of the pizza shop.

Playa Bowls now has 83 stores nationwide. Many are located throughout New Jersey, but the closest to Manahawkin is in Beach Haven.

Clarification: Playa Bowls will still operate in Beach Haven. A separate location is opening in Manahawkin.

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Barnegat-Manahawkin Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.