Juice Expansion

Austin-based Daily Juice secures funding to go nationwide

Daily Juice, Austin-based health food shop focusing on natural juices, has secured the necessary funding to take its franchise nationwide, with plans to open new stores in Houston and Dallas this year.

CEO and co-founder John Martin told the Austin American-Statesman that his company had raised $5 million to take the juice bars, which also have a small menu of salads and “grab and go” food, to other states.

The first of eventually four Austin locations opened in 2003 on Barton Springs Road. That location, as well as the store on Lake Austin Boulevard, have been rebranded as Juiceland stores. The new downtown Daily Juice location serves as the model for how the stores will look and work as they expand nationwide.

Daily Juice is the Austin-flavored foil to Jamba Juice, with a menu that has a strong focus on healthful, vegetarian and organic ingredients for its juices and bites. They also offer a series of cleanses and have catering services. The company is on track to open a new Westlake location in May.

Martin previously served as the CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and was part of the team that expanded the theater chain to markets outside of Texas. The plan is to "plant flags" in major markets in California and Florida by 2014 and have 100 Daily Juice locations across the country by 2016.

Plans for a nationwide expansion have been in the works for a while, with the first rumblings sounding toward the end of last year.

unspecified

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.