Bango Bowls. New York, USA.

Simplicity in executing a diverse menu within a small space.

Bango Bowls opened its first location in 2017 in the middle of winter in New York, serving acai bowls and smoothies from a small 300 square foot storefront in Massapequa Park. “We opened the first day of the year, there was snow on the ground, and we had a line down the street. It was pretty wild,” recalls Ryan Thorman, CEO and co-founder.

Today, Bango has grown to eight locations in suburban New York, each 1,000 to 1,200 square feet in space, with a RATIONAL iCombi Pro in the kitchen.

The mission at Bango is fresh, flavorful, fast, and friendly, all day and every day. “It’s very simple,” Thorman says. “Simplicity in this business, and executing every day, is extremely important and what we believe in.”

A look at the menu reveals a diverse offering of customizable salads, grain bowls, poke bowls, acai bowls, smoothies, and avocado toast. “A lot of times we get questions like, doesn't that diversity add a lot of complexity to your operation?” Thorman says. “But in fact, we do everything within three steps. And some of the technology we use in the restaurants really helps us achieve that.

“RATIONAL has been transformative to our business. Getting in there every day and operating and seeing what they could do, really is a game changer.”

The clear choice for small kitchens that lack ventilation.

Bango began installing RATIONAL iCombi Pro ovens in 2019 as Bango expanded its menu and went from a cold concept to cooking concept. “Our restaurants were not retrofitted for any sort of cooking or hood ventilation systems, so when we decided we wanted to add that component to our business, we had to think of what type of technology was out there,” Thorman recalls.

“The iCombi Pro allows us to operate in a very small area. Our kitchens are 100 to 300 square feet, if that, so being able to execute a lot of food in a small area is vital to our success. RATIONAL was one of the few technologies that allowed us to do that.”

Their kitchens don’t use any other traditional cooking equipment, so they are able to fit into small spaces and install a RATIONAL and UltraVent recirculating hood relatively quickly with minimal buildout.

You won’t find any chefs or line cooks at Bango; the employee team there is generally 16 to 30 years old and lacks kitchen experience. “We focus just on the prep and the organization, and the oven will execute every day in and out, no issues,” Thorman says.

“I always explain to anyone who comes in for the first time, do you cook at home? Yes? Okay, this is going to take you an hour to figure out. Have you never cooked at home? No? Okay. This is probably going to take you three days to figure out. It is that simple.”

Fresh veggies, hot grains, proteins cooked to order.

Bango uses the iCombi Pro to roast vegetables – broccoli, brussels sprouts, beets, sweet potatoes, grilled peppers, and onions – and steam hot grains like quinoa and rice. They roast chicken throughout the day and prepare shrimp and tofu to order. The RATIONAL’s speed and efficiency yields perfectly cooked shrimp in just three and a half minutes from the time it’s ordered to the time it reaches the customer.

“We put as much emphasis on flavor of our food as we do the health benefits,” says Thorman. “We’re firm believers that if you want to have a sustained healthy lifestyle, you have to enjoy what you eat. So we do put a big emphasis on making sure the food tastes great.”

Praise has followed, with Bango Bowls recently named one of the most innovative restaurants in New York state, one of Fast Casual’s “20 Brands to Watch,” and earning a coveted spot among the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers and Shakers list.

When asked to single out his favorite feature of the RATIONAL, Thorman doesn’t hesitate. “For me, it's the simplicity,” he says. “To be able to program something from my couch when I'm not even here – and have a team execute on it with not a lot of traditional kitchen background – really is what helps our concept thrive.

“The RATIONAL allows us to execute at a high level. That’s that next-level differentiator that really sets us apart, and that’s what RATIONAL allows us to do.”

  • Industry:
    Hospitality
  • Core business:
    Casual dining
  • Location:
    New York, USA
  • The challenge:
    Streamline the execution of a diverse menu in a compact kitchen space
  • The solution:
    iCombi Pro
Benefits:
  • iCookingSuite – monitoring and support to deliver the results you want, exactly as specified
  • iProduction Manager – allows you to prepare different foods at the same time
  • iCare System – automatic cleaning and descaling
  • iDensity Control – intelligent climate management for exceptional productivity and results
  • UltraVent – traps steam and vapors using condensation technology