We’re looking forward to introducing you to Tara Gesy. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Tara, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity. One of my favorite quotes is: “Integrity is the choice between what’s convenient and what’s right.” – Tom Dungy. In a world where convenience and ease are the leading decision makers, it isn’t popular to ask if you’re taking the easy way or the right way. Both personally and professionally, I focus on doing the right things for the right reasons, even if it’s hard. I want to teach the young women under my leadership & all those within my reach that doing what is right means making sure that the things we say and the things we do are in alignment, even when no one is watching. Ultimately, I believe integrity is our moral compass. With it, we have everything, without it, we have nothing.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Tara Gesy and I am the Founder and CEO of Adventure Bowls, açai bowl food truck. Established in April in 2021, with a grand opening in March of 2022, we are currently nearing the end of our 4th season in business.
Over the last four years Adventure Bowls has filed and received it’s trademark, started the franchising process, bought a second food truck, put the franchising process on hold, and as of March 2025 officially sold one truck and restructured the company back to a single truck operation.
Known for inspiring our customers to live life at their peak, my company focuses on three pillars: passion with purpose, people-first impact, and a healthy and adventurous lifestyle.
With an initial plan to franchise my brand and a dream of having 1,000 trucks on the road in 10 years, the more we grew the more I realized my God given purpose was magnifying those three pillars in the local communities we live and serve in. I am truly grateful for the one track mindset I had to franchising because it got Adventure Bowls where it is today, but I am most proud of restructuring my company to stay true to who I am and who God has called me to be. I always want to be willing and ready to pivot when necessary to honor the pillars of my brand while continuing to foster growth among my team, our communities, and ultimately the world.
With the company restructure completed in early 2025, Adventure Bowls has been able to add additional non-profit giveback partners. In addition to Big City Mountaineers, we also give a portion of our proceeds to Backing The Blue Line and the Wright Tech CEO program. All of these non-profits use the dollars we give to impact our communities right here in Minnesota. We have also been able to more heavily promote the U.S. companies we proudly source all of our products from, fine tune our menu to better serve our customers, focus on our team bonding and the futures of my employees, and spend much more hands on time with the community we have spent four years cultivating.
While the company has changed its direction, our core values and the pillars we have built the company on have stayed the same. I am incredibly proud to be a woman owned and woman operated small business, pouring into the next generations, keeping business in the U.S., sharing God through our brand, all while offering entirely an entirely gluten-free, dairy- free, soy-free, artificial & number dye-free, vegan menu!
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That being different than those around me meant something was wrong with me. Children and adults alike are encouraged to follow suit, to take the same path, to fit a “general” mold society has created for us. Since I was young I struggled to excel the same way others did and that made me feel as though I’d never amount to anything. The reality is that our differences are what make us special and important in our own ways! With the right encouragement, confidence in ourselves, and willingness to pursue personal excellence we are able to forge our own path and impact the world. Being different isn’t a burden, it’s a gift.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
There is something to be said about using pain and suffering as the silver lining of your life. I know how dark life can be, I know what it’s like to not want to wake up in the morning, to wonder if you matter, to ask what you’re even living for, and I know I’m not alone in that. Because I know that, I also know that every valley we go through is refining us for something far greater than we can imagine. Suffering is an invitation to look up, focus on better days ahead, and invite God to walk beside you as you navigate what he’s trying to teach you. Success is sweeter when you can look back and know you fought for, and won, every single battle that was an opportunity for you to give up.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Family! I have built my businesses with intentionality over creating the freedom to put my family above all else. Family has always been number one for me, but after losing my Dad in August 2015 at the age of 25, the value of the time I have with the ones I love was magnified. Personally and professionally, I want those around me to know that family always comes first and will always be my highest priority. There is no amount of success or money that can buy back time, I never want to regret not being present with those I love the most. I am lucky to be a daughter, sister, and auntie – titles I will always put before business owner.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Our time on this earth is limited. Everyone knows it, but you don’t truly understand it until you have to face death head on. The world tells us that money and possessions are the key to happiness but the reality is when all of those things are gone, what remains are the memories we have with the ones we love. I am fortunate to say that today I am living life for both my Dad and I and that my life is fuller because of it. I love harder, I seek true connection, I make time for the things that matter, and I never leave anything unsaid because his death taught me those are the things that I will ultimately be remembered for when I’m gone. That is the legacy I want to leave.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.adventurebowls.com
- Instagram: @adventurebowlsofficial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-gesy
- Facebook: @adventurebowlsofficial
Image Credits
Maggie Pool Photography
