Would anyone be open to a juice and salad bar located in downtown Maplewood?

OP said s/he was interested in other ideas as well...so I ran with that : ) I do spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the things I wish existed in our fair village! (a truly awesome mid-range restaurant, a co-working space, a burrito shop, a small pharmacy, a farm stand, non-hot yoga studio, a small local bank branch or credit union, the list goes on and on...)

jersey123...YES! I have had exactly the same thought about the food cart.

I do think this idea could be combined with a store front - like Mama's in the East Village. But whether or not it would be profitable or not given the high rents around here, I don't know. I honestly don't know how any of the restaurants or businesses in the Village stay afloat.

@Familyof4, you can travel a not-long distance to a lot of those things... like Shakti Yoga on Springfield Ave, Work & Play and Tito's Burritos in South Orange. I don't think we really need duplicates of a lot of those things since our towns are so small and connected.

I don't know about that. I only go to HLS, which I love, if I've also been to Shakti. Neighborhood hangouts are important. I like to stick close to home and other errands/needs when it comes to places where I'll regularly eat.

@orzabelle that's a good point. But realistically I'm not sure if the towns can support two of something VERY specific, like a co-working space. We do have several yoga studios as well.

I would go for interesting (and oversized) salads with ingredients I don't use at home. But my kids would need ham and cheese on a baguette, or mac and cheese, or pasta with olive oil or butter, etc. And we'd only be going on the weekend, and probably only once every two months or so. Meanwhile, I'd regularly stop in for a Smoothie, much like I regularly stop in for a Latte or Iced Latte at Starbucks whenever I pass one.

One problem I have with some salad places is the blandness of their veg. I think they order them from some corporate food company, pre-cut. The place in Millburn tastes like that to me, thus I don't go.

Well, it's my dream scenario : ) I like being able to walk places, especially when the weather's nice. It's a huge part of why we moved here. If I have to get in a car, the chances of me doing something are cut by about 70%. Haven't fully adjusted to the suburbs obviously!
If Maplewood was bike friendly, then my problems would be partially solved!

IF the objective is to sell a menu of healthy foods (its debatable if juices are healthy given the fiber is extracted) it would be great to also have some level of "education" maybe clinics during the day run by nutritionists, well labeled nutrition info (ie caloric, fats, etc)

the concept of educated healthy eating is lacking downtown (i and they probably dont want to know how many calories i ingested at my last dinner out

also given how many kids are downtown after school it would be great to have a menu for after school "snack" pick ups in addition to the adult pick up of dinner and maybe at lunch have fresh purees/baby and toddler food to pull in the SAHM/SAHD crowd

Yes. I would love to know more about the plan to keep the place busy all day and evening every day. Nutrional workshops or cooking classes or pick up and go snacks or dinner packages sound like great ideas.

I'm delighted to share with you that there are already plans in place to open a juice bar in Maplewood, on Baker Street. Get ready to welcome Greens to the neighborhood. Greens, an indoor golf and juice bar will be opening this summer. In addition to being able to play a round of virtual golf, Greens will offer juice, smoothies, salads and more. There will be a combination of grab and go items as well as seating for those that want to come and enjoy healthy fresh food and juice in a cool and friendly environment.
Greens will be working with Jane's Juice to create fabulous fruit and vegetable combinations that are both delicious to drink and great for your health. It sounds like something this is something that Maplewood is ready for and we look forward to welcoming you!

I'd love a Starbucks on Maplewood Avenue.

Greens sounds great!

tpjj said:

Greens, an indoor golf and juice bar will be opening this summer. In addition to being able to play a round of virtual golf, Greens will offer juice, smoothies, salads and more.

I may get flamed for this but, please tell me this is an April Fool's joke...
Who the hell needs "virtual golf" in addition to a salad? I see very few restaurateurs that have enough extra space left over for putting greens.

Maybe this a terrible idea, but what about a soup, salad, smoothie truck? Low overhead to get up and running and get your feet wet, though this would be more of a 3-season thing. You could tweet your locations throughout the day. Park near the village around lunch time and right near the train station during pm rush hour. Weekend ball games in the park, oh what's that? It's soup, salad, smoothie truck!

bkeditor said:

Maybe this a terrible idea, but what about a soup, salad, smoothie truck? Low overhead to get up and running and get your feet wet, though this would be more of a 3-season thing. You could tweet your locations throughout the day. Park near the village around lunch time and right near the train station during pm rush hour. Weekend ball games in the park, oh what's that? It's soup, salad, smoothie truck!

I like that idea a lot!

Also, Greens has got to be a joke. Is there even an open storefront on Baker?

Except for the Virtual Golf part, Greens sounds great to me. And since Jane's juice is a real local business run out of our community, I don't want to out rightly dismiss this as a prank. All I'll say is wth is virtual golf and WHY do we need it?

Greens is definitely not a joke, a prank, or an April Fool! Greens will house two virtual golf simulators where folks can come and enjoy a round of golf anywhere in the world! When the weather's bad or even when it's not, you can practice your swing, your chip and your putting. We hope to offer golf lessons, parties and more.
It's actually a great partnership with Jane's Juice. Those of you familiar with Jane's Juice know that she makes fabulous juice and the intention is that Greens will become a go to place to learn more about how to incorporate juicing into a healthy lifestyle. Workshops, cleanses, education will all be offered from the store. When you combine that with smoothies, salads and other nutritious food offerings, it really will be a great addition to the community, ensuring that there is a healthy option in town for breakfast, lunch, and after school.
So. No joke! It's really happening!!!!!!

Yikes! Where on Baker Street are you going?

tpjj said:

Greens is definitely not a joke, a prank, or an April Fool! Greens will house two virtual golf simulators where folks can come and enjoy a round of golf anywhere in the world! When the weather's bad or even when it's not, you can practice your swing, your chip and your putting. We hope to offer golf lessons, parties and more.
It's actually a great partnership with Jane's Juice. Those of you familiar with Jane's Juice know that she makes fabulous juice and the intention is that Greens will become a go to place to learn more about how to incorporate juicing into a healthy lifestyle. Workshops, cleanses, education will all be offered from the store. When you combine that with smoothies, salads and other nutritious food offerings, it really will be a great addition to the community, ensuring that there is a healthy option in town for breakfast, lunch, and after school.
So. No joke! It's really happening!!!!!!

Well, I stand corrected! Best of luck with your new venture. I'll enjoy stopping in for a drink!

Cold technology and natural healthiness seem at odds in terms of ambiance, but I do like both things, so I'll definitely come by. Now if there were other virtual sports options like baseball or racquetball, I'd stop by even more often.

Greens will be opening on Baker Street in the space currently occupied by Maplewood Dry Cleaners. They will be moving two doors up, to the other side of Baker Street Yoga.

Okay, thanks. Well, it's an interesting concept, I hope it works out for you. Might have to stop by a grab a juice and check out the bad golfers.

Thanks! Look forward to seeing you there