ACAI IN THE VALLEY. Up North Acai food truck is crafting fresh acai bowls topped with local honey and syrups.

Of the eatery varieties Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley lack, and locals groan and gripe about, one category has alluded our burger-and-beer saturated scene: health food. Yes, you can order a salad at just about any restaurant, and there is certainly a growing number of places offering allergen-friendly options – and even N/A drinks – but that isn’t really the same thing.

Perhaps the most recent go at opening a healthier restaurant locally was Fast Fuel. While it grew quickly from its small shop in Banbury Place to a storefront on Water Street in 2023 – aiming to be healthy fast food with its pressed juices and grain bowls – it closed its doors in less than one year (though it now collaborates with Whirlybird Coffee in Chippewa Falls).

Brittany Peterson, a nurse at Marshfield Clinic, and Mike Peterson, an accountant, aren’t restauranteurs. After seven years as a travel nurse, Brittany and her husband frequently enjoyed acai bowls throughout the country and world – notably, in Hawaii and Brazil – and after moving to the area, were surprised that there were no acai spots here. Their yearning for it, and hearing other people talk about the void locally, inspired them to take a leap with Up North Acai.

The food truck opened up for the first time just a couple of weeks ago on Monday, Aug. 19, its second time later that week, and it has already become one of the most-talked eateries of the summer.

Up North Acai’s menu boasts whole, fresh foods and locally-sourced honey and maple syrup, and its owners have been in talks with a local berry farm to supply them next summer. The food truck’s acai bowl base took about 30 tries to get right over the course of one month, Brittany said.

“People think they’re getting something healthier (by choosing acai bowls over other sweets), but some of the bases we looked at had 7-8 teaspoons of sugar in half a scoop of acai,” Brittany said. “We made it our mission to figure out how to do it without all of that added sugar so we can feel good about giving it to our kids.”

“I thought, if I feel good about giving it to my own kids, I'm sure other people and parents appreciate something like that too.”

BRITTANY Peterson

UP NORTH ACAI

“I thought, if I feel good about giving it to my own kids, I’m sure other people and parents appreciate something like that too,” she continued. That sentiment is also reflected in pricing. When the Petersons looked into what other acai eateries were charging, they knew they wanted to offer a more affordable price point. Their Mini Bowl (8 oz.) is $8 and Regular Bowl (16 oz.) is $12. 

Up North Acai’s bowls come with its superfood base – made of organic acai berries, bananas, strawberries, apple juice, almond milk, and granola (gluten-free available) – plus your choice of honey or maple syrup drizzle. The bowls are customizable with up to five toppings from its list of nine topping options: strawberries, blueberries, bananas, mangos, pineapple, coconut, chia seeds, cacao nibs, hemp hearts, peanut butter, almond butter, Nutella, sliced almonds, or protein crumble. 

Acai bowl joints have been a popular sweet favorite for several years, but like a lot of things, an acai storefront hasn’t stuck its landing in our slice of the Midwest. The closest acai bowl brick-and-mortar is about an hour’s drive from Eau Claire in the Hudson area, where Simply Bowls and Nautical Bowls are located. (The latter is supposedly opening in Eau Claire at the former Mega! Co-op gas station on Craig Road, though no  date has been announced.)

For now, keep up with Up North Acai and where they’ll be next on Facebook. They will pop up at Riverbend Winery and Marshfield Clinic this fall, and a few other places (dates TBA).

Find Up North Acai food truck on Facebook • Reach out with inquiries at upnorthacai@gmail.com