Swell, the long-awaited smoothie bowl and superfood restaurant owned by Kamryn King, has brought in huge crowds by appealing to the community and town with homemade menus and the shop’s intricate display of local artists’ work since opening Saturday, November 9, on Main Street in Old Saybrook.
Residents of Old Saybrook who had been waiting for this new business to open have been very happy with the results. Many people admired its coastal and clean ambiance; high schooler Hallie White described it as, “very fresh and clean inside and had a happy vibe.” The rising popularity of acai bowls has brought in chain restaurants, but high school students MT Morosky and Sam Hanover emphasized the quality of the food and drinks at Swell that are more valuable than a chain restaurant. They said, “the bowls were really good, and the texture of acai was really good. The portion size was really good and the price was valid because of the size.”
After an extensive background in the restaurant business and entrepreneurship, King said she decided to take on the challenge that is opening a small business. Her parents and past employers have assisted in the formation and motivation of her ideas. King’s store name, Swell, represents how, as a life-long athlete, she values one’s health and wellness.
Her social media presence is another contributing factor in her early success in not only modernizing her business but targeting the “younger generations,” an audience King has succeeded in reaching. This was seen on opening day, when King had advertised that the first 25 smoothie bowls would be free of charge, attracting a long line of the page’s followers, mainly teenagers. Although offering modern merchandise and food options, King values emphasizing the “small-town charm” that comes with being a local business in Old Saybrook, stating “That was really important to me when thinking about the design of this place.”
That’s not all, King’s ability to not shy away from a challenge is a leading factor in her large success as a small business owner on Main Street. She said, “I’ve always really liked a challenge and that was kind of the driving force behind Swell.” King’s entrepreneurial mindset, along with her marketing and business management degree from University of New Haven, set her up to overcome the everyday challenges that she continues to encounter, especially with such excitement among the community for the shops new and modern additions to what King praises as a place with a “really nice, old, small-town feel to it.”
People reported that having a business like Swell added to the town’s community. Morosky and Hanover believe that Swell will be “absolutely successful” especially with the extra people Old Saybrook brings in in the summer. “It’s going to bring in and result in other people opening more small businesses,” Morosky said.
To express the Saybrook charm that King was looking for with her new restaurant, she chose to display local, original art all over the restaurant. In regards to the local artists she said her goal is “to keep promoting them and helping them grow,” and that she thinks “that’s really what this town is all about.”
One of the artists whose work is featured in Swell, Stacy Clark, agreed and supported the idea of promoting local business. She said, “I was thrilled at the opportunity to share my work at Swell! I love that they decided to incorporate and support local artists in their new shop.” Her interest in art came about because of her love for photographing beach landscapes. In regards to her love for photography she said, “the shoreline and coastal New England towns are the main reason I’ve started my business. We are surrounded by so many beautiful places here that people love and connect with.” This beachy, small coastal town style of photography fits right into Swell and adds to the Saybrook charm that King hoped to achieve by displaying art from artists like Clark.
King’s goal of opening her own business came true at a young age and has been filled with success. She put in hard work and commitment and gained a new and desired restaurant. She said, “If you set your mind to something, you really can do it. I had no idea I was capable of opening a business at my age and so it is possible and you literally can do anything that you want to do, despite what anybody says.”
