Greenheart Juice Shop is now open in Courthouse.
The shop held a grand opening Saturday for its new location in the former Rāko Coffee space at 2016 Wilson Blvd. It is the second Greenheart location in Arlington after an outpost opened in Ballston last year.
The first 50 guests received free wellness shots and, at the opening, the company announced the launch of its new line of citrus juices and two new 8-ounce children’s juice options.
Greenheart sells juices, smoothies, bowls and light bites such as toast topped with hummus and veggies and a banana waffle, all designed to “support customer well-being,” according to PR rep Nick Goebel.
“We have a saying, ‘You deserve to feel good,’” added Greenheart’s Director of Operations Alicia Swanstrom, in a statement. “Those are words we live by, whether it’s through uplifting guest interactions, our clean ingredients that help people feel their very best or thoughtful spaces that feel good to be in.”
The company is looking to spread that good feeling beyond Virginia. With locations in Aldie, Leesburg and Vienna, Greenheart intends to open its sixth location in D.C. at Western Market, a food hall on the campus of George Washington University, Goebel said in a press release.
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(Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 2/6/24) A private equity firm has partnered with Arlington-born juice and smoothie bowl shop South Block in a deal that will help the local chain advance its plans to add dozens of locations up and down the East Coast.
South Block owner and founder Amir Mostafavi will stay on as CEO post-acquisition, per a press release announcing the deal. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mostafavi tells ARLnow he calls this deal a “strategic growth partnership,” as he and the whole South Block team will stay on while Savory Fund will help with its plans to reach 50 locations from the Mid-Atlantic up to the Northeast. The investment fund will also help with business operations, including human resources, finance and accounting, marketing, legal and facilities management.
“First and foremost, we have a great team at South Block already, a great foundation to build on,” Mostafavi said. “We’re excited about growing the business… My team is going to work alongside them and gain knowledge and experience as we’re building our team up in South Block, as we’re continuing to grow.”
Savory’s Managing Partner and Co-Founder Andrew Smith told ARLnow that, when it acquired a majority position in the company, keeping Mostafavi on was a non-negotiable.
“He’s done an incredible job leading this team to the successful level that he has,” Smith said. “He absolutely stands, amongst his peers, way ahead [in] the way that he runs [South Block], and I think it’s because he’s been patient: He hasn’t worried really about growing as fast as he can. He’s been growing as methodically as he can.”
Mostafavi started South Block with its first location in Clarendon, naming the company after its position on the south side of the block, near Trader Joe’s. As the juicery added locations, all within the D.C. area, Mostafavi started searching for a capital partner in 2022 to help him continue to expand the business.
“We’ve done what I think is a great job getting us to 15 locations and we could probably navigate on our own getting to 50, but to have a partner that… has your back, that will support you and that you can learn from just makes the journey feel a lot more relaxed and attainable,” Mostafavi said. “Any time as an entrepreneur that you can try to reduce some of the pressure and stress, that’s a good thing.”
Mostafavi says he was drawn to the Savory Fund after their initial introduction.
“They’re just great people, they genuinely care about the founder of their portfolio brands, the culture and that’s what they go looking for is brands that have a great fan base, a great company culture, that are founder driven, that put people first and that’s what I was looking for,” he said.
The Utah-based investment group says it “specializes in taking fast casual and polished casual food and beverage concepts” and scaling them “into 30-unit+ powerhouse brands.” Smith, Savory Fund’s co-founder, told ARLnow he wants to maintain South Block’s cult following amid the planned expansion.
“More important than scale, where we add dozens more units, we want to grow the business from within and make sure that we grow the base of our cult following and the locations we currently have,” he said.
By focusing on South Block’s leadership ranks and its business processes, he said, Savory Fund will help it “continue to maintain the great business that it is and continue to maintain the cult following that we have within South Block, and continue to maintain that leadership presence, especially in the Northeast.”
Vitality Bowls in Rosslyn has closed its doors after nearly eight years.
In 2016, a franchise location of the California-based superfood café opened in Rosslyn on the ground floor of 1515 Wilson Blvd, between Presidential Bank and a dentist’s office.
The interior of Vitality Bowls Arlington is now empty and the phone number is not in service. The Rosslyn location is no longer listed on the company’s website and Google marks the location as “permanently closed.”
The restaurant served organic smoothies, juices, salads and paninis and specialized in açaí bowls.
The café sat less than a half-mile from South Block, an Arlington-born smoothie and açaí shop that is enjoying substantial growth and looking to expand throughout the D.C. region. The South Block Rosslyn outpost opened in 2019 and is one of 15 locations total, with four others operating in Arlington.
In Rosslyn, smoothies and juices can also be found at bubble tea joint Gong Cha and frozen yogurt shop Ice Berry, both within a half-mile of the now-shuttered Vitality Bowls.
Vitality Bowls did not respond to a request for comment.
With the Rosslyn franchise closed, there are no other Vitality Bowl locations in Virginia. The brand, founded in 2011, recently added several locations throughout the U.S., with most of its outposts in California.
(Updated at 5:32 p.m.) Greenheart Juice Shop is slated to hold a grand opening for its newest location in Ballston on Saturday.
The celebration at 4121 Wilson Blvd will include wellness shots, and attendees can enter a raffle for a chance to win gift cards or class packs to local gyms.
This location, which previously housed Philz Coffee, will be Greenheart’s first in Arlington and its fourth in Northern Virginia. A second Arlington location is set to open in Courthouse “sometime this fall,” a spokesperson for the juice shop told ARLnow.
The juice chain began as one location in 2010 in the village of Aldie in Loudoun County, selling health foods such as cold-pressed juices, açai bowls and salads. Since then, the company has expanded its reach across Northern Virginia, adding storefronts in Leesburg and Vienna.
Late last year, Arlington-based hospitality group Wooden Nickel Bar Co., which also operates local restaurants Copperwood Tavern and Brass Rabbit Public House, acquired the shop. Greenheart then set its sights on expanding into Arlington.
“We’ve expanded into Ballston because [owner Reese Gardner]… saw an opportunity to be involved in a community that is very centered on health and fitness,” the spokesperson said, noting that Arlington has been named the “fittest city” for six years in a row.
The new juice shop will compete with another homegrown juice-and-smoothie chain, South Block, which has been open across the street since March 2019.
A growing Northern Virginia juice shop chain is now coming to Courthouse, in addition to a previously-announced location in Ballston.
The Ballston shop will be squeezing itself into the former home of Philz at 4121 Wilson Blvd, which closed late last year. The hope is that it will open next month, perhaps by July 15, co-owner Reese Gardner tells ARLnow.
The second Arlington location is set for Courthouse, moving into the one-time home of Rāko Coffee at 2016 Wilson Blvd. That shop quietly closed late last year as well, claiming it was just temporary due to a “out of order” espresso machine. The next month, however, pieces of equipment and furniture were put up for public auction by the county, with the money going towards the company’s tax bill.
It’s not clear when Greenheart will open in Courthouse, though signage is now in place above the door.
This will be the juice shop’s fourth and fifth locations, with other shops in Vienna, Leesburg, and Aldie, Virginia. The menu is focused on cold pressed juices, smoothies, salads, and bowls.
In addition to co-owning the juice shop, which he acquired a few months ago, Gardner also owns a number of other local bars and restaurants. That includes Dudley’s Sport and Ale in Shirlington, Quinn’s on the Corner in Rosslyn, and Brass Rabbit Pub in Clarendon.
A juice shop will be replacing a coffee shop in Ballston.
The former Philz Coffee at 4121 Wilson Blvd, in the middle of the Ballston Exchange office complex, is becoming a Greenheart Juice Shop. Philz closed in December after just under four years in the storefront.
The San Francisco-based company has reportedly closed all of its existing D.C.-area cafes. The last remaining Philz, in the District’s Adams Morgan neighborhood, was robbed earlier this month before its expected closing date.
Greenheart Juice Shop was recently acquired by Arlington hospitality group Wooden Nickel Bar Co., operator of local restaurants like Copperwood Tavern and Brass Rabbit Public House, the Washington Business Journal reported last month.
Greenheart has existing locations in Vienna, Leesburg and Aldie. Wooden Nickel owner Reese Gardner confirmed to ARLnow that a new location will be opening in Ballston — and said that another would follow elsewhere in the county.
“The first of two Arlington locations,” Gardner said, declining for now to reveal where the other will be opening. “Same offerings as the other three locations.”
Gardner said the juice shop in Ballston “should be open in July.”
The Business Journal had also previously reported about a Greenheart location planned somewhere in Ballston. The new juice shop will compete with another homegrown local juice-and-smoothie chain, South Block, which has been open across the street since March 2019.
South Block is hoping to open its new Rosslyn location by late August.
Owner Amir Mostafavi told ARLnow yesterday (Monday) that he’s “excited” about the summer opening, and is planning a block party to celebrate.
“We anticipate opening in late August followed by a community block party in September,” said Mostafavi. “The block party will consist of a live DJ, Bash will be there, we will be handing out swag bags to the 100 blockstars in line, free samples and more.”
The new eatery (1550 Wilson Blvd) will take up part of the space that previously housed Cafe Asia, next to Bash Boxing.
This will be the fourth South Block to open in Arlington and the tenth total since its founding in 2011. The latest South Block to open was the Ballston Quarter location in March.
The burgeoning local chain serves juice, smoothies, acai bowls and toasts. The new Rosslyn location will serve up a similar menu.
Mostafavi previously told ARLnow that he picked the location for its proximity to Bash.
“We’ve always had a really strong relationship with Arlington’s fitness community, so this is just a really good fit,” he said.
A new shop serving up smoothies, coffee and “superfood” recently opened in the lobby of an office building in Clarendon.
The Waterhouse Coffee and Juice Bar debuted last Tuesday (Oct. 30) with a soft opening for the office building tenants to sample the food and drink, Connie Kim, the owner and manager, told ARLnow.
Located at 3033 Wilson Blvd, customers use the street entrances on Wilson Blvd and N. Garfield Street or the sliding doors in the lobby of the office building to reach Waterhouse.
The tenants have come back since the soft opening, Kim said. While Kim said she is familiar with tenant customers from her first and, now-closed, business in the building shared by CNN and the U.S. Department of Education, these customers surprised her.
“I never knew tenants could be this intimate and regular,” she said.
The menu spans hot and cold coffee and teas to smoothies and freshly squeezed juice for drinks. The “natural fruit smoothies” are made from ice and fruit juice, while the “power boost smoothies” pack in about seven different ingredients, Kim said. Food options include toasts, salads, sandwiches, acai bowls and all-day breakfast.
“I wanted to do really good coffee, really good juice and smoothie bars, where it’s a very comfortable place,” Kim said.
The name “Waterhouse” popped into her head while sitting in an airport about four years ago, Kim said. Initially, she wanted to open a taco place, but then decided a coffee shop would be a better fit for the space by the Clarendon Metro station. Previous establishments at the space include a cafe and deli known for its vegan sandwiches and an Italian hoagie and Mediterranean food shop.
Waterhouse seats about 15 people inside the shop, with an additional 15 seats in the lobby. Kim plans to have four tables outside in the spring.
The shop is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.
South Block will soon bring its array of juices, smoothies and acai bowls to Rosslyn.
The Arlington-based chain is planning its fourth location in the county for the former Cafe Asia space (1550 Wilson Blvd), next to the forthcoming Bash Boxing workout studio, according to founder and CEO Amir Mostafavi.
“Our Clarendon spot has turned into such a busy location, and we’re growing as a company, it just seemed like it was needed for us in that area,” he told ARLnow. “Regulars can attest that if you come in on a Saturday in Clarendon, it’s just packed. So now we can spread out a bit and help the serve community better.”
Mostafavi expects that the Rosslyn location will open in the late spring of 2019, just a few months after South Block opens its third Arlington store in the new Ballston Quarter development. He says both new locations will offer the same line-up as the rest of its shops, including the toast options he’s recently added to his menus.
In an unusual twist of fate, both the new locations will be located next to Bash Boxing’s gyms, with the fitness studio also planning a Ballston Quarter location.
Though Scott Parker, one of the studio’s co-founders, says the pairings were largely a “coincidence,” Mostafavi expects the businesses will easily compliment each other.
“We’re calling it a one-two punch,” Mostafavi said.
Mostafavi says his real estate broker first showed him the Cafe Asia space a few months back as he eyed an expansion. When he subsequently heard from Bash’s backers that they too were eyeing the space, he figured opening up a juice bar right next to fitness studio would make a good bit of sense.
“We’ve always had a really strong relationship with Arlington’s fitness community, so this is just a really good fit,” Mostafavi said.
By the time South Block opens its two new Arlington locations, Mostafavi says he’ll have 10 shops running across the region.
Photo courtesy of @IAmAru
A new restaurant offering coffee, smoothies and “superfood” is gearing up to open in Clarendon.
Signs promising that Waterhouse Coffee and Juice Bar is “coming soon” recently appeared on an office building at 3033 Wilson Blvd, near the road’s intersection with N. Garfield Street.
Though the restaurant doesn’t have any online presence to speak of just yet, the signs say the eatery will offer Lavazza coffee and espresso, “freshly pressed juices” and smoothies. The store is also set to serve “powerful superfood” including acai bowls and avocado mash.
The signs do not, however, offer any clarity on when the restaurant might open its doors.
Waterhouse is located around the corner from Casal’s Spa and Salon and Hunan Number One.
Cold-pressed juice bar JRINK is now open in the Clarendon area.
The store, at 3260 Wilson Blvd, held its grand opening on Sunday. It offers 100 percent cold-pressed, all-natural juice that’s produced locally, at a price of $9-10 per bottle.
JRINK is competing with nearby South Block Juice Co. in the high-end juice space, which has found a market thanks in part to the popularity of so-called juice cleanses. JRINK — like South Block — also offers coffee, smoothies and superfood bowls.
This is the second Virginia store for JRINK, which has four existing locations in the District and a fifth in Falls Church, where its juices are made. The company says the new Clarendon store is the first of its kind in the region with a drive-thru window.
“JRINK’s newest location allows customers to enjoy a drive-thru experience that keeps your health in check, as well as a full storefront offering their signature juices, warm beverages, and superfoods,” notes a press release.
“Each JRINK flavor (ranging from $9-$10 each or $155 for a full, three-day reboot) contains up to five pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables… completely free of added sugar, preservatives and chemicals,” the press release adds.
