Romance and açaí

One of the newest additions to the Nord Avenue corridor is The Bahama Hut, which opened last week in the Safeway parking lot. Owners Matt Vereschagin and Donna Wetzel both grew up in Orland—they even dated in high school. Then life took Wetzel to Michigan, where she lived for 22 years and raised three children. She returned to Orland this past March to be closer to family and the two rekindled their romance. Both have a strong affinity for business; Vereschagin is an electrician and a farmer, while Wetzel’s experience is in accounting, finance and marketing. They were thinking about having a food truck at the Thursday Night Market, but ended up meeting Amanda Bosschart, the owner of OM Foods, and taking over her lease on the little hut in the Safeway parking lot on Nord Avenue instead. The Bahama Hut serves a variety of healthy and affordable vegetarian and vegan food options—including açaí bowls, veggie burgers, NorCal Nitro coffee, Italian sodas, soft pretzels, bagels and even some fresh produce from Vereschagin’s farm—from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.

Where did you get the inspiration for the Bahama Hut?

Wetzel: What started it was, in Southern California they have the açaí bowls. My son is a Marine and I was down there visiting him—and they’re all over down there [but] they’re nowhere up here. So, I saw a mix at Costco and I made [Matt] one and he was like, “Wow, these are really good!” and I said, “I’ve wanted for the last four years to open up a stand and I never did.” So that’s how it started.

What’s in an açaí bowl?

Wetzel: Açaí is a berry from the Amazon that we get as a sorbet.

Vereschagin: We use maple granola, so it’s a dairy-free, animal-free product with fresh fruit on top like bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple.

Wetzel: And chocolate chips if you like it sweet. I like peanut butter in mine. And basically what it is, it’s like a smoothie in a bowl with fresh fruit on top and you eat it like a meal. It’s great for breakfast or lunch.

What’s your goal?

Wetzel: We’re trying to do unique stuff at an affordable price.

Vereschagin: We’re trying to make things on the healthy side. We’re both vegetarians and so we’re not into the fried foods, we’re into something quick that’s somewhat healthy, not your typical fast food.

What made you decide to jump into business together?

Vereschagin: Well, we knew each other for a good many years since high school. We’re both new to this industry, and we love the idea of trying to do something healthy. I’m more about giving back than lining my pocket; I want to do something that’s good, that we can be proud of, we can feel good about it, we can go home and say “people enjoyed this” and put a smile on somebody’s face.