Juice Joint has made it their mission to provide clean eating and educate the public while doing so.
Located on University Drive, Juice Joint serves organic drinks and snacks to those in the Bryan-College Station area using locally grown ingredients. The restaurant offers educational opportunities to individuals interested in learning about sustainability and grows a portion of ingredients in their urban garden.
Lisa Bradway, Juice Joint owner and Class of 1982, is a former business professor at Texas A&M. While spending time working in her husband’s physical therapy office, Bradway said she noticed faults in the United States healthcare system and decided to make a change.
Bradway, who struggled with Type 2 diabetes for many years, said her idea for Juice Joint came from juice fasting, which has helped keep her off insulin.
“I realized we have to take more responsibility for our own health,” Bradway said. “I’m a perfect example of all of the people who are taking medications and not doing anything. I may not be tiny, but I can control the medication I have to take for my health.
According to Bradway, Juice Joint is one of nine certified green restaurants in Texas. Bradway said this is determined by the Green Restaurant Association through use of electricity, sustainability and conversion of waste.
“All of our pulp is taken by Brazos Valley and recycled in their composting,” Bradway said. “All of our cups are compostable except for our straws. Ninety percent of what we have [in our urban garden] is repurposed.”
Morgan Cook, sociology senior and Juice Joint assistant manager, said the shop focuses on lists put out by the Environmental Working Group, whose goal is to educate the public about pesticides in food.
Items on this list fall into either the Dirty Dozen, which are foods with high pesticide residues, or the Clean Fifteen, which are foods unlikely to have pesticide residues. Juice Joint tries to focus on items on this list when preparing their recipes.
“Things on the Dirty Dozen are things that have all of the chemicals, insecticides and pesticides and things like that,” Cook said. “Those are the foods that we all get organic.”
In addition to drinks and snacks served on-location, Juice Joint offers juice cleanses. These are offered in sizes of 40 ounces and 80 ounces per day.
“The purpose of a cleanse is to have all you consume for how many days you’re doing it is vitamins, minerals, enzymes and clean water,” Bradway said. “That way, your body can use all of that to start detoxing, which it does mostly the first two days.”
A large component of Juice Joint’s mission is education. This is done through informational classes on-site, such as how make perfumes with essential oils, as well as speaking at events.
“We want to show people you can do this is in a very small space,” Bradway said. “It’s really to try to make people realize there’s things you can do easily to take care of your health, and you cannot trust the government to do that for you.”
Jordan Lesmeister, communication junior, said she i trying to eat healthy while in college. She said the bright colors in Juice Joint’s urban garden made eating healthy enjoyable.
“Watching what I eat and eating clean is something I try really hard to do, even though it can be a challenge at times in college,” Lesmeister said. “I really love the way my body feels and how clear my mind is when I eat healthier.”
According to Cook, working at the juice shop has taught her about the nutrients used in the food served.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize all of the junk that’s in your everyday food, fast food and your tropical smoothie place,” Cook said. “I just think that if you want to get a smoothie or a snack on the go, it’s best that it’s something pure and really good for you.”