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Tanya Chandrasena works on a fresh-pressed juice for a customer at her new downtown Burlington business, Grove Juice Bar, which she opened with Mary Jo Corleto in early September.
Tanya Chandrasena works on a fresh-pressed juice for a customer at her new downtown Burlington business, Grove Juice Bar, which she opened with Mary Jo Corleto in early September.
Times-News
Jill Doss Raines/Times-News
BURLINGTON — You always will miss things from home when you move to a new place.
For friends, Tanya Chandrasena and Mary Jo Corleto, two Californians who moved to Burlington three years ago, fresh pressed juices, smoothies and wellness shots without chemical or sugar additives were something they missed. So the pair, who work in the financial industry, decided to open Grove Juice Bar in downtown Burlington.
"Being around the community for a while now, we would hear people talking about wellness and their health," said Chandrasena. "We wanted to open this to help the community. We care. California is very different. Everywhere you go there are healthy choice places."
While there are about six other chain or independent juice bars in Alamance County, few met the quality and are free of additives that the two women wanted. At Grove Juice Bar, you are getting fresh fruit and vegetables in your juices, smoothies and wellness shots, many cultivated from Alamance County farms or businesses.
"I was driving to Chapel Hill or Raleigh to get fresh pressed juices or we were making them at home," said Corleto.
When you read shots above, don't think you'll be poked with a needle. These are one to two ounce super concentrated juices that likely contain fresh ginger, turmeric, black pepper or some other medicinal spice or vitamin served in a shot glass. We thought it would be great to have a place like this for people to come hang out and learn about healthy juicing."
They are locally sourcing their fruits and vegetables to ensure as many as possible are organic.
Pictured is one of the fresh pressed juices at Grove Juice Bar in downtown Burlington.-
The duo held a sneak peek opening of their juice bar at 114 W. Front St. on Sept. 10. They are still in sneak peek mode with a smaller, limited menu and hours of operation. The bar is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday to Friday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays.
After Oct. 1, when they hold their grand opening not only with they have more juices, smoothies and shots on the menu and longer hours of operation, but they will also offer back room organic tea bags for purchase and branded merchandise with Grove Juice Bar on t-shirts, cotton bags and other gift ideas.
Chandrasena said it was important to them to support local farmers and other small businesses with their venture. They have sourced sea moss, which is used in their drinks, from a local vendor. Ever since celebrity Kim Kardashian posted on social media about drinking a sea moss smoothie, the healthy eating community has been bursting with information about the superfood. With its full line of vitamins and minerals, sea moss can help with everything from skin to your immune system. A serving of sea moss is just two tablespoons, so it doesn’t take much to start adding sea moss into your diet, especially in fresh pressed juices, wellness shots or smoothies.
But Chandrasena and Corleto will not be dispensing medical advice, they said. They are not licensed, doctors or nutritionists.
'We want to educate people and provide them with healthy products," Corleto said during a phone interview as Chandrasena was interviewed in person in the shop.
Added Chandrasena: "We're not nutritionists or doctors, so we cannot administer this in that way. We can make recommendations based on our knowledge if someone comes in and tells us they have joint pain or they want more energy or want to boost their immunities. We do not make recommendations on a medical level. We always tell people they need to speak with their doctor."
Walking her beat in downtown Burlington, Officer L. Womack noticed the new juice bar on the block and stepped right inside to learn about the benefits of fresh pressed juice.
Walking her beat in downtown Burlington, Officer L. Womack noticed the new juice bar on the block and stepped right inside to learn about the benefits of fresh pressed juice. Chandrasena made her a juice with kale, carrots, cucumbers, pineapple, oranges and ginger. Womack smiled as she tried the bright, orange-colored juice.
"I like it," she said. "everything is so fresh, They make it when you order it ... I normally don't like carrots, but I like this. You don't really taste the carrots."
Mary Jo Corleto, co-owner of Burlington's newest fresh-pressed juice bar, pushes apples through the juicer at Grove Juice Bar.
Times-News
Photo courtesy of Grove Juice Bar
Knowing she is still able to get the health benefits of carrots and other vegetables she does not normally like and eat makes the juice even better, she said.
Those compliments make Chandrasena smile. She loves hearing that her business will help get vitamins and minerals inside of her customers who typically would not eat fruit or vegetables.
"We're in the phase of getting to know our customers and what they want," she said. "...We hope they like it and we are learning. We're excited to be here and hope everyone gives us a chance."
After the grand opening on Oct. 1, Grove Juice Bar's hours will change to 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays. Follow Grove Juice Bar on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with news about the business.
While the main sign is not up yet at the Grove Juice Bar in downtown Burlington, the new business's name is on the store's window.
Times-News
Photo courtesy of Grove Juice Bar
- Jill Doss-Raines is the food and restaurant writer for the Times-News. She is always looking for tips about Alamance County's food scene. Contact me at jill.doss-raines@the-dispatch.com.
