It has been a big summer for mobile businesses – Barroluco, Yarnbyrds, Happy Boutique Truck and Wooden Shoe Coffee are in various states of launch – and joining their ranks is another first-of-its-kind truck: the “Juice Emergency” from Vitality Smoothie & Juice.
An actual ambulance converted into a food truck, Juice Emergency trades the typically decedent food truck fare for a lineup of juices and other health-centric drinks and snacks.
Brian and Amy Green launched the brick-and-mortar version of Vitality in August of 2015 in Dublin. After requests for additional locations, Vitality opted for wheels to make virtually the whole city their second location. Ready to roll in the next month, Juice Emergency will save events, visit fitness studios, fuel-up hungry office workers and more.
Keep reading as Brian shares how Vitality Smoothie & Juice got started, and what sets it apart from other juicers.
[M]: Tell me a little bit about your background the background of Vitality Smoothie & Juice. How and when did your Dublin storefront get started?
Vitality: I’ve been vegetarian for over 15 years now, yet struggled, just like most people, to fit enough vegetables into my daily diet. Then I realized that with juicing, I could easily consume two to four pounds of fresh produce a day. And it tasted good, so juicing was the natural solution.
I have a background in both the restaurant and healthcare industries, so merging the two fields by starting a juice shop serving both delicious and nutritious food seemed the perfect way to combine my passions. I get a lot of joy out of helping so many people improve their health the tasty way. Prior to moving to Columbus, I’d primarily lived in larger cities, which offered a wide variety of healthy foods and juice, and I was excited about introducing more diverse, healthy food options to a smaller city like Columbus. We fell in love with Dublin’s historic charm, and like being a part of a smaller community where we can really get to know our neighbors and customers.
[M]: Why did you decide to add a food truck to the lineup?
Vitality: We’ve gotten requests to expand in areas other than Dublin, and the juice truck will enable us to reach the whole city! We want health to be accessible and affordable to all.
[M]: Is the truck up and rolling? If not, when do you hope to be rolling?
Vitality: We have converted an actual ambulance into our “Juice Emergency” truck. Juice to the rescue! We plan to be rolling by August.
[M]: What’s on the menu for the food truck?
Vitality: We’re excited to be able to offer a wide variety of items, everything from our fresh juices, to kombucha, protein nut milks, raw food snacks and superfood tonics.
[M]: What makes Vitality’s offerings different from other juicers and food trucks?
Vitality: At Vitality, we love to experiment with new ingredients, and have a wide variety of flavors from sweet to spicy. We are the only juice bar to offer custom cleanses to fit your needs.
Vitality is unique in how innovative and hands-on we are. We have designed and built a custom countertop juice press, capable of more than two tons of pressure and small enough for a food truck. We’re so committed to local and organic produce that we started our own micro-farm, which we will use to supply some of our produce, and aspire to eventually go completely farm-to-bottle. We use 18 oz glass bottles, which are saving a ton of plastic from landfills, and we offer customers a discount when they return them so they can be reused.
Vitality’s Juice Emergency truck is the first, and only, juice truck in the city.
[M]: How have trends like an increased focus on health & wellness and the rise of mobile businesses influenced your operation?
Vitality: Thankfully, people are more aware now than ever of the importance that a healthy diet plays in everything from physical health to mood and energy levels. This has definitely generated a greater interest in healthy food options, and required us to get more creative to satisfy people’s demands for healthy food without sacrificing the taste they also love. We’re excited that our new mobile juice truck will enable us to reach even more people and communities, to make healthy food options as accessible as possible.
For more information, visit vitalityjuicery.com.
Photos via Vitality Smoothie & Juice Facebook.
