The Juice Laundry has been pressing and blending entirely organic, vegan and gluten-free products since its humble 2013 beginnings as a juice delivery service in a corner of a Charlottesville doughnut shop. Owners Mike and Sarah Keenan expanded the concept into a brick-and-mortar storefront in 2015, serving an extensive menu of juices, nut milks, smoothies and breakfast bowls. They have since opened a second Charlottesville location and another in Washington.
Last week, the owners announced that Richmond will soon get its own Juice Laundry. The Richmond menu and overall concept will be identical to the others, but it’ll be owned and operated by Richmonder Billy Salter in a licensee arrangement.
“We’re always just spread a little thin,” Mike Keenan says. “So when Billy brought this idea to our attention, and knowing his background and expertise in running food establishments, we were like ‘Oh, this is perfect.’ It’s a great way for us to expand into Richmond, which is something we’ve been wanting to do for years.”
Juices, served in 17-ounce glass bottles, include veggie-heavy concoctions like the Clean Green, featuring kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, apple, parsley, ginger and lemon. The Rinse and Re-Beet is a blend of beet, carrot, cucumber, celery and lemon, and the Turmeric Tonic is just turmeric, lime and maple syrup with water. Dairy-free milks include cashew, chocolate-almond, Brazilian mint and chai hemp, and bottled cold brew lattes are available with cashew or almond milk.
One of the most popular smoothies on the menu is the vibrant pink Bradley’s CB&J, which is made with cashew butter, strawberries, dragon fruit, banana, dates and cashew milk. For something a little different, try the Waterboy, a bright turquoise tropical-tasting smoothie made with pineapple, mango, coconut water and Blue Majik, a proprietary extract of the blue-green algae spirulina. For every Waterboy smoothie or bowl sold, $2 goes to former NFL player Chris Long’s Waterboys, an organization that provides clean drinking water to communities in need.
Other menu items include gluten-free, dairy-free mac and “cheez,” a kale Caesar salad, vegan chili, cauliflower rice salad, a cashew-based Greek yogurt and granola parfait and chocolate chia pudding. You can also choose from a lengthy menu of bases, fruits and toppings to make your own smoothie or bowl.
The Juice Laundry also offers one-, two- and three-day juice cleanses, which consist of five bottled juices and your choice of nut milk each day.
The new shop will be in the River Road Shopping Center, next to Scout and Molly’s Boutique. And according to Salter, it will be more than just a juice bar.
“We want this to be a community gathering place,” he says. “We’ll have comfortable seating and the tables will have USB ports and electrical outlets so you can sit and stay a while. We really want it to be a place where people don’t just grab a smoothie for lunch and go.”
Along with co-working-friendly seating and WiFi, there will also be an enclosed Plexiglas room where guests can watch the behind-the-scenes juicing and bottling process.
Construction on the space is set to begin on July 1, and Salter is aiming for a September opening. In the meantime, mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 19 — Salter will be at Scout and Molly’s Boutique offering Juice Laundry samples from 4 to 8 p.m. Keep an eye on the shop’s new Instagram account, @thejuicelaundryrva, for updates.
