Chimba Bowls, an açaí bowl restaurant formerly housed in the Butler Esports Park, has made a comeback at Broad Ripple’s very own Illinois Street Food Emporium. Since June 13, Chimba Bowls has been featured as a weekend pop-up at the Emporium, providing fresh açaí bowls as a complement to the almost 50-year legacy of the neighborhood cafe.
While Chimba Bowls’ run on campus was short lived, Butler alum and founder of Chimba, Felipe Reyes, stated on LinkedIn that the business generated over $120,000 in revenue annually. After a year of successful revenue gain, the change of location came as a slight surprise for Reyes.
“If I had the chance to choose, I probably would have loved to keep Chimba [on campus], and that was the plan initially,” Reyes said. “As I was closing my time here at Butler, and we were figuring out what to do after, the mutual decision was [to not] continue with Chimba on campus. [Butler] wanted to open up some space for another student venture to come in.”
When Reyes realized Chimba Bowls would not continue in its original Butler location, the next step was finding a new home for the small business he had carried with him since his sophomore year. After Chimba Bowls’ shutdown, Reyes found a new chance for his business in Matthew Williford, the owner of Illinois Street Food Emporium. The pair met from a mutual connection in the entrepreneurship program during the school year.
Williford, who acquired the cafe just one year ago in August 2025, sensed that Reyes had promise.
“I really felt like he genuinely wanted to build something, and wanted to do that,” Williford said. “I said, ‘Look, I had a lot of partners on this that gave me a chance and believed in me … I’m always looking for ways to … give back. There’s a lot of ways I can’t help, but in the small ways that I can help, I want to.’”
Illinois Street Food Emporium and the Butler community share a long history. Since before the establishment was a restaurant, Butler students have enjoyed close ties with the location and local community. The Emporium’s home at 5550 N Illinois St. is a convenient six-minute drive from campus. On pleasant days, students can even stroll the two-mile route along the canal.
Illinois Street Food Emporium was founded in 1979 by Indianapolis locals Sue and Ernie Kobets. Prior to the Kobets’ acquisition, the address was home to a local, all-day breakfast joint known as The Huddle, which doubled as a drugstore and a lunch counter. Both Butler students and children from the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood would frequent The Huddle until a fire forced the business to close its doors. From there, the Kobetses reimagined the space as a food emporium and ended up retaining The Huddle’s former customer base.
Chimba’s relocation has not stopped many Butler students from huddling up, so to speak. Luisa Hungria, a senior international business and risk management and insurance double major, has visited Chimba Bowls’ new location and has high praise.
“The quality keeps being the same,” Hungria said. “They’re still as delicious, and if you miss Chimba or you just want to remember what that was like on campus, you can still do that.”
Hungria has been closely associated with the store since its early days on campus. She started at Chimba Bowls as a barista and eventually worked her way up to the retail manager position. For Hungria, Chimba Bowls was not just a work opportunity — it was also a way to live a healthier lifestyle among limited dining options.
“I wouldn’t have to rely on just the chicken tenders and fries and the chips and all that,” Hungria said. “It’s nice to have a different option. And then if you have a sweet tooth, the fact that you have an option with fruit, and you can add Nutella or coconut, [it’s] just something to get you through the day.”
Interestingly, Chimba Bowls is not the first Butler-centered dining option to partner with Illinois Street Food Emporium. Even before Williford owned the restaurant, Illinois Street Food Emporium worked with Bon Appétit to provide many of the food products students see in Butler Brew or A-Town on the daily, including sweet cheese and ham and cheese croissants. Williford also just introduced cheese and cherry Danishes.
Williford sees the collaboration with Reyes as yet another bridge between the Butler community and Illinois Street Food Emporium.
“We can enhance and add things and create new memories for people,” Williford said. “Part of that is Chimba, and why we wanted to do that was to not just offer more; we wanted to enhance our menu and bring in healthier [and] seasonal options.”
For more information and the store’s hours, visit @chimbabowls on Instagram.