Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Vandermark.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alex. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The history of The Juicery dates back to 1995. It first opened as an organic and vegan juice and smoothie bar in an old taxi stand in Portsmouth, NH. The interior of the space was only about 100 square feet and about 6 feet tall, severely limiting the number of people able to stand inside. A maximum of three employees could be seen “dancing” around each other, and only about three customers could stand inside to place orders at any given time.
I purchased The Juicery in 2008 when it was still the old “hole in the wall”. I had returned home to the seacoast from Florida’s Stetson University. Where I graduated with a Major in Marketing. Believe it or not, I found the little store for sale on Craiglist! I gave the original Juicery a facelift, added a few new smoothies to the menu, and watched as juicing fresh fruits and vegetables entered into the mainstream of American culture.
Originally, it was just me and a few other employees. I then began expanding the business and my team. By 2011, I took over another existing juice bar in Portland, Maine in the heart of the Old Port called Maine Squeeze. I renovated and changed the menu slightly to include some additions from the Portsmouth menu. 2012 brought further expansion when I opened another Maine Squeeze in the Monument Square of Portland.
In 2013, The Juicery in downtown Portsmouth was renovated and moved next door to a much larger location, quadrupling in size. It included room for up to six employees to work at a time, space for customers to wait inside, and a few tables and chairs. The old smaller space was then converted into The Soupery, selling locally sourced, wholesome soup and bread.
In May of 2014, I then set my sights on bringing Maine Squeeze to Kittery, ME opening in a converted freestanding bank drive-through. September 2014 saw the opening of The Juicery at The Pease Tradeport, in a food court in a busy business and industrial park. The Pease location also added a large commercial kitchen to The Juicery/Maine Squeeze fold.
The Juicery in Boston’s Northend opened in October of 2014. Its crafted menu is derived from equal parts of the menus from the original Juicery and Maine Squeeze in Portland. We recently moved to a newly renovated location on Salem Street across from Neptune Oyster Bar.
The Juicery in Durham came in May 2016 and was unique in that it combined the Juicery menu items, as well as soups and breads from The Soupery. It also includes a large seating area for students attending UNH right up to the road.
March 2017 brought our most recent store in Newburyport, MA. This beautiful location includes a small seating area that looks out onto the street and has become a summer staple in the Newburyport area. June of this year we opened in Somersworth, NH in the Works family health and fitness center.
Our main office is located out at Pease and we now have a team of over 100+ employees.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I started out in 2008 when the economy was just starting to turn around. I have been very fortunate to experience the success I have. Had it been a different set of circumstances I may have never decided to expand so aggressively.
As the old saying goes “when one door closes, another opens”. This has been so true for me in business. In the third year of being open, I had the opportunity to open in Newburyport, MA. I had to walk away from that opportunity.
I look back on that decision as one of best I have made. 10 years later I am the owner of a building in Newburyport and I have a Juicery location on the first floor. Things sometimes happen for a reason and you just need to trust in your path.
The Juicery & Maine Squeeze Juice bars – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Juicery is a locally-owned and operated an eco-friendly business that is dedicated to bringing the best all-natural foods, smoothies, and organic juices to the New England seacoast and beyond. In addition to our beverages, we offer nutrient boosting shots and whole food supplements for optimum health and wellness. We also offer a line of “Juicery Kitchen” to go foods. The Juicery Kitchen is located at our Pease Tradeport location. There we cook all the ToGo food and snacks from scratch.
Every item is made with care and love by the Chefs. Our chefs source the best quality ingredients available, making certain that ingredients are as pure as possible, free of preservatives/additives/food coloring, and either organic/ GMO-free/Fair Trade.
We are committed to purchasing organic soy (edamame, tamari, tofu, tempeh), corn, and wheat (soba noodles, pasta) because these items will also be GMO-free. Cocoa powder, chocolate and sugar will also be organic and Fair Trade. Produce that is on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list will be organic as much as possible.
Items on the Clean Fifteen will be conventional unless organic is at a comparable price point. I have grown up and been a part of the seacoast community for the last 30 years. I first started the Juicery as a means to provide healthy, affordable, ‘fast casual food’ to the community. While each of our locations may look a bit different and serve a slightly different menu, our goal is always the same– to nourish the community.
-We take pride in providing affordable, convenient, nutrient-dense eats & drinks
-We’re redefining ‘fast food.’ Ours actually contains wholefoods
-We are passionate about your health & happiness
-We are dedicated to the health & happiness of our employees
-We know good vibes are just as nourishing as good eats
-We cherish our community
-We give daily thanks to Mother Earth by using all compostable cups, bowls, straws, napkins & silverware (then recycle everything else)
-We promise to continually evolve and innovate
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being able to purchase a building in Newburyport and open a location there. Its a different feeling being your own landlord. It’s very gratifying knowing you make the rules.
I was also a winner of the Seacoasts “10 to watch” 2018. That was pretty flattering.
Contact Info:
- Address: 55 Hanover Street Portsmouth NH
14 Manchester Square Pease Tradeport Portsmouth NH
30 Main Street Durham NH
58 Salem Street Boston MA
40 State Street Newburyport MA
23 Works Way, Somersworth, NH 03878
7 Wallingford Square Kittery ME (Maine Squeeze Locations)
5 ½ Moulton Street Portland ME (Maine Squeeze Locations)
28 Monument Square Portland ME (Maine Squeeze Locations) - Website: www.juicery.com www.mainsqueezejuicecafe.com
- Phone: 603-431-0693 (Hanover St); 603-427-9650 (Manchester Sq);
603-815-4164 (Main St); 617-936-4101 (Salem St); 978-255-2652 (State St);
603-516-2045 (Works Way); 207-703-2079 (Wallingford St); 207-773-7374 (Moulton St);
207-772-0040 (Monument Square) - Email: info@juicery.com
- Instagram: the__Juicery
Image Credit:
Raya Al-Hashmi of Raya on Assignment
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