When Michelle Nommensen and Andrea Staff walked through the Milwaukee Public Market in April 2024, they did not expect the visit to change the course of their summers — and eventually, their community presence. But a stop at an açaí bowl bar planted a simple idea that quickly took root.

“We visited an açaí bowl bar and wished we could have something like this closer to home,” Nommensen said. “We decided then and there that we were going to start an açaí business.”