Former military members and active parents Josh and Carrie Ayers are on track to open their fourth Playa Bowls location in the state early next month.
The popular plant-powered franchise will be the first of many retail stores, including a Starbucks and a 110 Grill restaurant, to open in the newly developed plaza constructed in the parking lot of the Capitol Shopping Center on Storrs Street. Though the Ayerses are ready to open, some last-minute renovations have slightly delayed their launch.
“We hope that it brings in everyone from Concord to enjoy the atmosphere and be part of the community,” Josh Ayers said. “We’re a big proponent of bringing stuff into the community and supporting the community as much as we can.”
The couple first joined the franchise in 2019 and opened their first store in Manchester at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago. They’d been following the company since its launch in 2014 and have since opened locations in Hampton and Nashua with plans to open a fifth store in Salem’s Tuscan Village as early as November.
The popular shop – which specializes in acai and pitaya bowls, smoothies, coffee, juices and more – has more than 170 shops across the nation with plans to expand internationally. It was founded by traveling surfers Abby Taylor and Rob Giuliano, who wanted to recreate the different versions of nutritious bowls and juices they encountered during their many surf trips throughout Central America, California and Hawaii. At each place they traveled to, they’d discover new techniques and twists to the popular post-surf treat.
When they returned to their hometown of Belmar, New Jersey, they set up a folding table on the boardwalk and the business took off. Around the same time, during Carrie Ayers’ residency as an anesthesiologist, she met Giuliano’s brother, who was studying to become an orthopedic surgeon. He shared details of the business with her and she and Josh took an interest and began following their development.
“Here we are now, upcoming with our fourth store,” Josh Ayers said. “I’m full-time with Playa Bowls and I oversee all of the stores that we have.”
Though Carrie oversees the financial aspect of the business, she is a full-time anesthesiologist at Elliot Hospital in Manchester where she has been employed since 2014 after leaving a full-time position at Concord Hospital and a part-time position in Exeter.
Together, they balance the business, Carrie’s professional career and their three children, who are active in their schooling and travel sports, Josh said.
“Us running this is a huge juggling act, but we have been able to tie in our family needs to Playa Bowls to make sure it runs successfully,” he continued. “It stands true to its brand and it’s a family itself.”
Before joining the franchise, both Carrie and Josh were active in the military. Josh enlisted in 2002 and was deployed three times before he became a police officer in Baltimore, Maryland. Carrie graduated college in 2004 and earned the rank of captain, marking her nine years of active duty. In 2006, she began working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. They were both deployed to the Middle East several times.
Once the couple relocated to New Hampshire, Josh worked several social service jobs throughout the state where he worked as a veterans outreach coordinator and a case counselor for incarcerated veterans while Carrie reenlisted in the military until 2017, Josh said.
“We took on this adventure and it’s what I have grown into doing now,” he said.