Cold-pressed juices — concoctions of pounds of vegetables and fruits masticated and squeezed in a refrigerated press to keep with their nutrients intact — are coming to the Heights in September, when Roots Juices opens at 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd., near Eggshells and Le Pops.
Owner is Brent Rodgers of Dallas, who says he started the business in his parents’ garage in Dallas after leaving his high-pressure Wall Street job and traveling the world. Roots Juices’ business is divided between walk-ins and folks who are engaged in cleanses, limiting their diets to an all-juice regime.
The idea of the cleanses, Rodgers said, is to give your digestive tract some time off — the same way you’d skip a day at the gym to let muscles repair. A juice diet “resets your mind,” he said, into craving fruits and vegetables, he said. Roots Juices aren’t very sweet, but “you feel good after” you drink them, he said.
Among the 24 juices listed on Roots Juices’ website: “Just for Kids,” pineapple, oranges, apples and carrots; “Green Goddess,” kale, spinach, apple, romaine, ginger, lemon and celery; “Dandelion Juice,” all dandelion; and “Everything,” beets, carrots, apple, aloe, ginger, kale, spinach, romaine, jalapeno, turmeric, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pear and parsley.
The juices aren’t cheap: One day’s cleanse, six bottles of juice, is $50 a day and cleanses usually run three to five days. A single 16-ounce bottle is $7 to $8. It takes about three to five pounds of vegetables to make a single bottle; hence the price. Roots Juices also sells healthy snacks.
Rodgers is not a stranger to Little Rock; his father, Kelly Rodgers, is superintendent of North Little Rock School District. He also has Roots Juices stores in Atlanta, Dallas and Houston.