The makers of popular Gulf Breeze food truck, Pineapple Express Rice Bowls, are planting their roots back down in Pensacola with a new downtown location slated to open in a matter of weeks.
Pineapple Express owners Michael Perez and Erin Perez, and the owners of Xiscali Mexican Taquiera, Gerardo Zentle and Reina Medina, have partnered to create Pineapple Express Hawaiian Grill in Xiscali’s Barrancas location at 1400 Barrancas Ave. The new Pineapple Express restaurant will be in addition to the Pineapple Express Rice Bowls food truck in Gulf Breeze.
“They have been supportive of my business for a long time,” Perez said of Zentle and his wife, Reina Medina. “It was like a second wind for me.”
The fast-casual restaurant will carry over some of the staples that made Pineapple Express popular, like the signature rice bowls, but with an expanded menu thanks to the increased kitchen space.
These options include signature bowls, build your own bowls and desserts. Perez said the bowls especially appeal to those looking for a healthy alternative due to their fresh ingredients, like fresh edamame, avocado, green onion and as the name suggests – fresh pineapple.