'A signed love letter from Dré': The very-loved Purple Tree is back

Davia Moore met André Newman during a capoeira class at age 15.

“He’s pretty much like a brother to me. Capoeira has a way of bringing people together,” she says. “He’s a really safe man to be around. I didn’t feel like there was any energy besides just a good person.”

Newman was known around Tucson for many things — a historian who brought stories to life, taught acroyoga and sang karaoke. He was also the owner of food truck Purple Tree Organic Acai Blends, often parking at the base of Tumamoc Hill or on the University of Arizona campus.

When Newman died in 2020, the news hit Tucsonans hard, sharing their memories and flocking to GoFundMe to support the family.

“It was his ability to talk to anyone about anything any time,” Moore says. “And also his work ethic, his consistency, but mostly the spirit of him — who he is as an individual. It feels good to communicate with people who are genuinely in love with what they do, they love life, they're free-spirited, they feel good. There was always laughter, there were always ideas and concepts and dreams. And always an idea of, we want better for you.”

Since then, several people have expressed interest in purchasing Purple Tree. But no one makes more sense than Moore, says her husband Peter Illetschko.

“For many reasons, Purple Tree was the last thing on my mind because that’s not how I knew him,” Moore says. But time passed and she saw how interested buyers had little interest in keeping the truck the way it was — and that no one wanted to pay the price tag.

“(Peter and I) decided to take it on — and change basically nothing,” she says.

After seven months of going through the permitting process and lots of work learning the recipes behind the popular acai bowls and smoothies, Purple Tree returned to the community in April.

“It was beautiful. It was intense. It was a lot,” Moore says. “It’s a nice way to heal because people come in and share their stories.”

“It’s a signed love letter from Dré — ‘I’m still here with you guys. I’m still present with you by spirit,’” Moore says. “I’m not the same person. I’m not trying to replace my friend. I’m just continuing a legacy and doing the work that’s needed to continue.”

As much as Purple Tree was Newman's, it's also Moore's. She's spent countless hours in and out of the truck. She has sore elbows from scooping acai.

“On his birthday, he actually just turned 50, I wanted to acknowledge his birthday and I was like: ‘I literally think about you every day because of the truck, but when I do it's in a space of gratitude and love and I'm just so happy we got to cross each other's paths. We had a lot of fun,’” Moore says.

Purple Tree got its start nearly a decade ago. Back in 2013 when Moore lived in Hawaii, Newman and Purple Tree’s co-founder David Krummenacker flew out to visit. (Krummenacker is still involved today, sharing the recipes with Moore and answering any random question she might have.)

“I had taken them to the food truck area and that’s where Dré saw the acai trucks, the poke trucks, the shrimp trucks, and he started the truck with that inspiration,” she says. “Whether or not I had anything to do with it, it makes sense for me to pick up the baton.”

“André did a lot of work — him and David did a lot of work to figure out what works and what doesn’t. That’s taken off a good 75% of what we have to figure out,” she says.

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The goal of the truck — health, wealth and positive vibes — remains the same. Moore has added a couple new menu items, like mushroom coffee, but nothing outrageous. She's also working on a parfait and hopes to offer cold brew in the future. “We’re not trying to sell tacos or anything like that,” she says.

The customer favorite, by far, are the acai bowls, made with the original recipes plus an added ingredient or two. “When I look at the numbers, we did 70 acai bowls just today. People love the bowls — and they should,” she says.

Moore has plans to create a Dré Bowl, a harmonious balance of fruits and fats, with either lavender gelato or acai, maybe with sea moss and avocado. Part of the proceeds from the bowl will go toward an education fund for Newman's daughter, Savan. 

This isn’t the first time Moore has dabbled in the food industry — she has pastry experience under her belt from a stint in San Francisco. 

“I’ve always enjoyed being in the kitchen. My family is Southern. We enjoy traditional dining — everyone makes a meal and sits down,” she says.

And her first boyfriend was a chef. Food brought them together. 

“When you're with someone that loves flavors, loves food, it ignites a fire in you,” Moore says. “And I love the hustle of the kitchen. You have people that are in need, they're hungry, they're paying for a certain service. I'm a virgo. It makes me so happy to serve people.”

Moore is also the owner behind Samba Southwest, an Afro-Brazilian dance group. She teaches jiu-jitsu and capoeira, too.

“Acai is from Brazil so it just kind of goes hand in hand,” she says, which “makes an even more authentic connection to acai. I live the lifestyle. I am the lifestyle.”

“Sometimes I’ve said I have an American passport but a Brazilian heart. It's very normal for me to want to do something in that realm because I live that culture. It's genuinely close to my heart and spirit.”

Moore eventually hopes to have more than one Purple Tree truck, hopefully able to attend every event they can. “Offering healthy options — it’s a weird satisfaction handing people an acai bowl or a smoothie, like I hope you had a good hike or a good bike ride,” she says.

At some point, she also wants to start a podcast. Maybe a handful of episodes are dedicated to life on a food truck. Maybe some are about women's health, women in jiu-jitsu, women who own businesses while also maintaining family and self-care.

Moore wants to mentor Tucson kids, too, giving them experience working on a food truck and interacting with the community.

“I’m heavily community-oriented,” she says. “If I work with someone, it’s because I see the value of what both of us can bring out in one another. I really want to get the word out there that this is a passion of ours — this is our friend’s business and I’m more than happy to keep it running.

“We want to do the right thing ... because it’s not just my thing. It’s our thing. It’s Tucson’s thing.”

Where to find Purple Tree

Purple Tree often sets up shop at the base of Tumamoc Hill and will soon be parked just southeast of Main Gate Square. The truck can also be found 8 a.m. to noon Sundays at the Rillito Park Farmers Market, 4502 N. First Ave.

For updated times and locations, follow Purple Tree on Instagram.