A growing Maine-based franchise has opened a new location on Vine Street in Bath, just across the street from Bath Iron Works.

The grand opening for the Bath location of Bay Bowls came in June, according to Griffin Weaver, owner of the Bath location. Bay Bowls is a family-owned business with existing locations in Brunswick and Portland. The Bath location offers a 10% discount to Bath Iron Works employees.

The founders, Sal and Soraia Matari, have posted an advertisement seeking franchise options for a licensing agreement within Maine, Weaver said. Weaver aims to expand to other locations in Maine, and the Matari family is planning possible ventures beyond state lines in the future.

Weaver met with Sal and Soraia six months ago to discuss new locations for Bay Bowls, with the Bath locale at 45 Vine St., next to the U.S. Route 1 bridge. Weaver’s family spent a month and a half renovating the inside of the building, and Weaver’s mother painted a mural inside the restaurant.

“For me, I wanted to be around the community of Bath, and the [city] itself is super welcoming,” Weaver said.

The main food item is the acai and granola fruit bowls, with both the acai and pitaya (or dragon fruit) sourced from small, family-owned farms in Brazil. The granola for the fruit bowl is sourced from Grandy Organics in Hiram, which is both nut- and gluten-free.

Weaver said the acai fruit bowls and smoothie-making are easy to train new employees on. The Bay Bowls Bath location is fully staffed and is not currently looking to hire.

Bay Bowls used to have a location in Biddeford but closed in March 2025. The business had opened during the COVID-19 pandemic a few years prior and has been bringing the acai superfood native to Central and South America to visitors and residents in the Midcoast and Southern Maine regions.