Above: Our first Juice Press store, JP1, circa 2010 at 70 East 1st Street in New York City. I spy with my little eye, Katelin Sisson on the bench, Ben Jacobson in red converse, and a block party of cool kids on first and first.
I started Juice Press in 2008 on a worn-out laptop in my apartment, my exit from the family antique business. Before that, I ran a skydiving shop and made training films and books. I sold the shop in 2003 to Cameron and Donna Bayrasli, and the media rights to Rob Laidlaw, founder of Skydive University. Thankfully, I made my mark without making one in the ground.
After that, I went back to work for my father, rebuilt my finances, and slowly went out of my mind waiting for customers to walk in. Juicing and plant-based eating became my obsession, born from Thai boxing and brutal weight cuts. That obsession became Juice Press, and eventually goodsugar.
I was turning 40, my daughter Luna was two, and I practically lived on East 1st Street. One day I spotted a tiny, sunlit storefront across from a children's park and knew it had to be mine. It felt like the center of the universe. I pitched the idea to Jacob Vainer, who owned a bar and a health food spot nearby. He said yes. Then Alain Palinsky showed up and jumped in. In 2010, Juice Press opened its doors.
A lot of great people helped me from day one. Looking back, the chaos that ran right alongside our success was partly my own making. Journeys like this are always character studies. Some partnerships were disasters, others were brilliant. Partnering with Kenny Dichter and Mark Teixeira was one of the smartest moves I ever made. Partnering with Michael Karsch was not. Jake Vainer, my first partner, was an interesting choice and a good guy at heart. Alain Palinsky was like a younger brother. We didn't always get along, but he gave a lot in those first two years.
Early partners like Mark Baker added real value too. He came from nightlife and was always easy to work with.
My father David deserves credit as well. Once the brand took off, he talked me into selling him a franchise. His store on 62nd and Third opened strong and was later sold back to the company.
Kenny Dichter and Mark Teixeira were our first investors, and their names brought the credibility that helped us raise real money.
Michael Karsch came in during our Series A and bought out Alain. Together we grew the company from store five to store 85. Eventually he took full control and paid me fairly. From 2016 to 2019, I stayed on as founder and followed his lead. Since 2019, I've had zero involvement.
After I left, they changed the menu and added eggs and dairy. Then they renamed Juice Press to Just Plants. Go figure.
Respect to Ken Langone, who sat on our board and invested. Same goes for Simone Levinson, Michael Murphy and the many others who backed us.
By 2019 we had 85 locations, 35 of them inside Equinox gyms. As of 2025, 15 stores are left. According to Michael Karsch, if he hadn't stepped in, I would have bankrupted the company. Maybe he was right. Or maybe he went on to take Juice Press apart himself.
I moved on, started goodsugar, and here we are in 2026 doing whatever we want. It's all good. Best of luck to all of our competitors.
My time with Karsch was like earning a PhD. I'm a vastly better operator, art director, innovator, builder, HR person and so on, all thanks to my "prison time" with Karsch-ie Pants. Nana goo-goo.
This is petty, but fun. F@k it. Transparency, my peeps. This shit is fun.
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