So, you're thinking of opening a juice bar, huh? Well, best of luck! We’re here to help. Believe it or not, the more places like goodsugar, the better—more competition, more customers for all of us, right? There's plenty of room in the happy juice business.
But let's cut the crap. Ninety-nine percent of New Yorkers probably didn’t make it this far down the page. It's just you and me now. If you think for one second that I’m gonna let you muscle into my territory, you’ve clearly never heard of me—the Jugo King. (Yeah, I said ‘jugo.’ Sounds sexier than ‘juice,’ doesn’t it?)
Alright, that last part was a joke. Sorry if you’re sweating. I’m writing this on the 4 Train, and things get weird down here.
No, wait—f*ck this! I'm done playing nice. This is my turf. You wanna challenge me? I’ll defend this market to hell and back!
Okay, okay... joking again. Relax. From now on, no more games, I promise. My mission is to help you build a juice bar you’ll actually love.
Let’s start with a lesson: this isn’t just a juice bar—it’s like a cantina, but a cosmic cantina. Sounds cute, right? Problem is, most people aren’t cosmic—they’re trapped in their anxious, localized little bodies.
Anyway, the folks behind goodsugar? We were all part of Juice Press. One of us even founded it. We grew that operation from a tiny shop to 85 stores. So yeah, we know a little something about juice. But don’t worry, we’ll help you too. Just follow along.
Step one: pick your city. If you choose New York, just know—this is my city, and I’ll politely run you out of town. Nothing personal, just a little NYC-style competition. But if you’re smart, you’ll open up shop somewhere else. Now, you’ll need around 2,000 square feet, something with the right vibes.
Next up, your menu. Don’t overthink it—just copy ours. Seriously. It’s organic, it’s delicious, people love it. Stick to the basics: juices, smoothies, soups, food, and a bakery. Boom, done. Depending on your city, you’ll need about $1.5 million to open. Easy, right? Once you’re ready to expand, new locations run about $600,000 a pop. No sweat.
Think of it like putting on a Broadway show. You’ll spend months (or years) writing the script, building the set, casting the actors, and then, maybe—maybe—you’ll be ready for opening night. Fun, huh?
Oh, and don’t forget a catchy brand name. But don’t lose sleep over it. There’s a water brand called Liquid Death, for crying out loud. Just throw a dart at a thesaurus and roll with it. Once you’ve got the name, go ahead and trademark it. That’ll set you back about $15,000 to $20,000 for ten trademarks. And you better get a solid .com domain—non-negotiable.
While you’re obsessing over the perfect kale-to-spinach ratio, you’ll also need to juggle branding, packaging, and social media. Oh, and New York? Get ready to deal with co-op boards, the Department of Buildings, Health Department, and every bureaucratic nightmare you can think of. Don’t forget, you’ll need a mountain of insurance. But hey, it gets easier—eventually.
So yeah, opening a juice bar is a breeze. Everything works out perfectly. (Just kidding.) You’ll spend a fortune, deal with headaches, and probably question your life choices a few times. But hey, you’ll learn.
As for goodsugar? We’re opening more stores in New York, then I’m onto my next passion project—a car wash that uses green juice to clean cars. It’s like a cleanse, but for your vehicle. First location? Fifth Avenue and 72nd. You heard it here first. We’ll keep the quality of our product pure—don’t worry. We all need this. We all need goodsugar.
And now that you’ve read this far, you realize we were totally kidding when we said we’d take you out if you tried to open a juice spot in New York, right? I mean, ice pick to the kneecap and a quick trip to Staten Island to feed you to my angry pigs? Test me, see if I’m joking.
Alright, I gotta go—my stop’s next.