A new bar is coming to Northgate, but it won’t be selling alcohol.
Lisa Bradley, former lecturer at Mays Business School, is opening Northgate Juice Joint, which will serve fresh juice and smoothies made from local produce.
When the property became available in March, Bradley said she began leasing in anticipation of opening.
“The more we started looking into it and talking to people, the more we saw there was an interest beyond just what we thought,” Bradley said. “We want to be socially responsible in the community and we want to involve the community. So I’m my own, I’m not a chain or anything.”
Bradley said most of the juices made by other companies are either pasteurized or have been sitting on the shelf for some time and lack the freshness she thinks is important for juicing.
“Whenever you have vitamins, particularly enzymes, if it’s been heated or if it’s been sitting around for a while you probably don’t have very many minerals, vitamins or enzymes left,” Bradley said. “So you have to wonder what am I actually gaining from this drink that I’m paying a fortune for.”
Bradley said she and her husband, who is a physical therapist that specializes in natural pain, have always been interested in natural health options.
“I have diabetes type two and my family has had some chronic illnesses, [we] started trying to find ways to take more responsibility for our health and be a little healthier,” Bradley said. “So we started exploring juicing, primarily for me.”
Bradley wants people of all ages to get involved with the business and know that whole foods are not difficult to come by.
“We will try to have some outreach to the community because part of our mission, at least in my opinion, is to try and let people know that it’s not that difficult to provide whole foods that don’t have tons of chemicals in your own home,” Bradley said.
Bradley said she wants to avoid all foods that are possibly genetically modified.
“We use primarily nut milk as opposed to soy because 90 percent of the soy products now are GMO and I really try to avoid anything modified if at all possible,” Bradley said.
In efforts to practice sustainability, pulp from juicing will be used by the community and will be taken to the Howdy Farm, and Bradley said her paper goods will be eco-friendly and made from Greenware.
“I just found a vendor,” Bradley said. “It’s not petroleum-based products. It’s made from vegetables — corn based. Greenware product is entirely from plants — it’s 100 percent compostable.”
Bradley hired horticulture senior Claire Porrata and horticulture junior Clayton Wyatt to help with the herb garden behind the store.
“I could pick my herbs from there and then other people in the community can see how you can have a tiny space and really produce quite a bit for yourself,” Bradley said. “So if you want to eat more whole foods this is one way you can do it.”
Porrata and Wyatt are still formulating a design for the garden in the back of the store. Porrata said the process gives her the chance to develop skills related to her field, which she feels is not well known in College Station.
“I’m an urban horticulture major hoping to bring green spaces to urban cities,” Porrata said.
Bradley also has hired several nutrition majors and had visualization graduate student Erin Merzey design the logo.
Bradley’s juice and smoothies will be produced using natural and organic products and produce, some of which will come from the Howdy Farm. Bradley said she trusts the natural products that aren’t certified as organic by the United States Department of Agriculture, but understands that sometimes, as is the case with serious illnesses, it’s important to choose the goods with organic labels.
“We don’t have all organic, because some of the stuff is natural,” Bradley said. “So it doesn’t have a chemical but it’s not certified organic.”
Bradley said Northgate Juice Joint is expected to open at the end of September or early October.