Fresh juice shops are growing in popularity all around the country — a trend we can all get behind. Usually small and local, these stores make freshly squeezed juice on location, promoting a healthy and clean lifestyle. Originally a concept reserved to larger and more hip cities such as New York City and Los Angeles, juice shops are popping up everywhere — and are finally here in Columbia.
USC alumni Katie Munshaw and her husband, Saket, moved back to Columbia from San Francisco with the intent of opening a juice bar. Getting their start at the Soda City Farmers Market, held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Main Street, Southern Squeezed has been the local choice for fresh, cold-pressed juices. In July 2015, Southern Squeezed opened their doors on Lady Street downtown, offering a wide variety of freshly squeezed juices and almond milks.
Inside, the store is small and neat — rows of colorful juices line the back wall and bright, fun paintings hang on the walls.
“Some of the other juice shops around Columbia are more of a restaurant, ours is just a juice bar,” Munshaw said. “Ours is more of a grab-and-go juice place.”
While smoothie shops might work as your daily intake of fruits and vegetables, juices are a lighter alternative.
“Each one of our juices has about three to five pounds of produce in each bottle,” Munshaw said.
Each 16-ounce bottle costs around $6 to $8 —a splurge for most — but almost all of their ingredients are locally grown. Southern Squeezed gets their arugula and romaine from Freshly Grown Farm, another Soda City market staple.
“Whatever is available that is local, we try and get,” Munshaw said. “We use a produce distributor that we can specifically ask for organic South Carolina produce, which we do as much as we can.”
Along with their variety of cold-pressed juices and almond milks, Southern Squeezed recently has begun selling local organic eggs from a farm in Chapin, South Carolina.
If you’re looking for an alternative to your regular fruit smoothie and want to be more conscious of purchasing locally produced goods, Southern Squeezed is ready to be the next popular spot. Now with a table at the Healthy Carolina Farmer’s Market every Tuesday on Greene Street, picking up a refreshing boost is even easier for USC students.