Squeeze Juice Works 675 30th Ave. N, St. Petersburg A pioneer in Tampa Bay’s small batch, handcrafted juice scene, Squeeze launched in 2012. The St. Petersburg shop once had three locations and a cafe—including a shop in South Tampa. Founder Kelly Lessem, who lives with the rare neurological autoimmune condition Myasthenia Gravis, founded Squeeze after she started juicing for own health. The shop served juice, shots, food and had recently started a juice cleanse subscription service. Credit: Photo via SqueezeJuiceWorks/Facebook

The Bay area is going to have one less place to get cleansed. After a dozen years in the community, award-winning Squeeze Juice Works has announced its closure.

Founder Kelly Lessem shared the news on social media.

A pioneer in Tampa Bay’s small batch, handcrafted juice scene, Squeeze launched in 2012. The St. Petersburg shop once had three locations and a cafe—including a shop in South Tampa.

Lessem, who lives with the rare neurological autoimmune condition Myasthenia Gravis, founded the shop after she started juicing for own health. Squeeze served juice, shots, food and recently started a juice cleanse subscription service.

Squeeze Juice Works’ last day in business at 675 30th Ave. N is Monday, Jan. 20 and will wrap its final press this Friday. The goods will also be available at Saturday’s Mezzo Market on St. Petersburg’s Baum Avenue.

In her message, Lessem thanked the many employees who helped Squeeze Juice Works run over the year, and expressed gratitude for all the lessons she learned.

“Thank you all for trusting us and to support your health. Over the last decade, we saw pregnant mothers, children who have been drinking our juice since they were very small, people working through a variety of illnesses, and then just you folks in the community are curious about your health,” Lessem added.

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This article appears in Jan 9-15, 2025.