‘It just kind of took off’: Passion for acai bowls leads to successful business for Libertyville native

Sometimes a craving is so strong it moves you in an unexpected direction.

And if you’re lucky enough to have fun while spending nearly every waking hour pursuing your passion, it’s a bonus.

That’s the short story of Lolo’s Bowls, which opened a second location three weeks ago in a renovated florist shop at 34 E. Main St., in downtown Lake Zurich. Lolo is the nickname of Libertyville native Lauren Schick, who in 2019 opened the first store in a small, out-of-the-way spot in a strip center in her hometown.

Featuring acai (ah-sigh-EE) bowls and smoothies, Lolo’s has its origins in Hawaii where the superfood became a hit during Schick’s family vacations but was not readily available back home.

“We would come back from vacations and crave acai bowls but there were none around so I decided to fix that problem,” she said.

Schick had a degree in kinesiology from DePauw University and at 24 dropped out of nursing school with no business, marketing or culinary experience to bring a taste of Hawaii to Illinois.

“I was — and still am — just a girl who loves acai bowls and wanted to share that passion with my community,” she said.

The family did too, and one day, Schick asked her mom, Darlene, if she wanted to join her in pursuing it as a business.

“I thought it would be me and my mom doing this,” Lauren says. “It just kind of took off.”

Darlene worked in a sporting goods store in the Cambridge Plaza strip center on South Milwaukee Avenue across from Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and learned a former doctor’s office in the northeast corner had been vacant 10 years.

The space was subdivided and the original Lolo’s opened on Oct. 23, 2019. Libertyville High School students became the customer base and word quickly spread. Sarah Rubinstein, an Libertyville High student and Lolo's customer, suggested bringing 100 bowls to lunch for a charity event.

“I knew everyone would like Lolo’s Bowls,” said Rubenstein, who has been a seasonal employee since 2021. They sold out in about a period and half.

Wanting to contribute to the community, Schick said she donates a portion of every bowl or smoothie sold on Fridays ($20,000 to date) to Feed My Starving Children, among her favorite places to volunteer.

COVID came on the heels of the Libertyville launch but the business survived and thrived.

“A lot of our business is grab and go so we were able to make it work,” Schick said. “We stayed pretty busy.”

Lolo’s is different from other businesses in that acai is made into a soft-serve base to which other ingredients are added by hand. It has remained a family business with Schick, her parents, sister and her sister’s fiance as full-time staff workers supplemented with part-time students.

Dad Brian, who worked in IT for a major airline, is familiar with payroll and human resources systems. Next door neighbor Adam Garvanian said he saw Lauren’s passion and became a partner. He selected the Lake Zurich location and oversaw the renovation, which involved a total gut and remodel.

Part of the reasoning was the planned multimillion dollar upgrade of Main Street next year and the general focus by village officials on improving the downtown area, he said.

“It’s a great little up-and-coming town,” Garvanian said. “It's just a nice spot for a second location.”

Business at Lolo’s in Libertyville grew faster than expected and the small space is jammed at times.

“It’s a good problem to have but you don’t plan on it at the time,” said Brian Schick. “It caught on really quick.”

Lolo’s also caught the attention of former Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, who Schick said became a regular of sorts. Fields spoke with the team nutritionist and it was arranged for Lolo’s to cater on Wednesdays before home games, she added.

See the TikTok video of Lauren and Jenny preparing favorites for current players.

With operations under control and Lake Zurich open, the company hopes to expand while remaining an independent small business rather than a franchise, Schick said.

“Our big draw is college and high school students,” she said. “We want to go to Evanston,” home of Northwestern University.