Promoting itself as the “world’s first certified gluten-free fast-food restaurant chain,” Power Soul Café is the brainchild of Las Vegan Dina Mitchell, who for 15 years was in charge of the west coast expansion of Tropical Smoothie Cafes, a franchiser with 1,500 locations nationwide. She wanted to branch out from smoothies and add healthy food items to her own brand and came up with Power Soul.
Three locations have opened this year, the flagship on Warm Springs Rd. near Durango in the southwest valley, one in Henderson (1469 E. Lake Mead Parkway), and the third right around the corner from our office at Valley View and Spring Mountain. We stopped off on a hot summer afternoon to see what it was all about.
It’s different. There’s no dining area or any seating neither outdoor nor indoor. You order from a walk-up window; scan the giant QR code for the menu or read it through the window behind the point of sale. The all-glass front allows you to see the food being prepared and it’s handed through out to you. You can also order in advance and pick up from self-serve refrigerated lockers, which are convenient, especially since the cafés are open 24/7.
The menu consists of two dozen smoothies ($7.49), acai bowls ($12.99), chicken nuggets ($5.99-$10.99) and vegan chicken strips ($5.99), eight pizzas ($12-$15), and various breakfast waffles and egg sandwiches ($3.99-$8.99). The online ordering system allows you to filter for keto and vegetarian and 60 or so allergens to avoid.
We ordered at the walk-up window and got a Soul Colada smoothie and an Ah-Sigh-Ee (for how acai is pronounced) bowl. Both were tasty and refreshing when we got them back to the office, though at 109 degrees out, it would’ve been unpleasant to consume them in the car or standing around the Chinatown parking lot. Nor would we have wanted to do that between December and March, especially with the potential for sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (brain freeze) from these products. When it’s nice out, you can do so; otherwise, it’s best to have somewhere you can eat them, because you can’t do it at or in Power Soul.
The total bill came to $24.20 with tax and a $2 tip. It might sound a little steep for a smoothie and bowl, but they were fresh, healthy, filling, and satisfying.