What began as a local farmers' market booth is going brick-and-mortar. Running Smoothie founders Holly Maguire and Michael Miller have taken over a 1,000-square-foot Clearwater building that used to house a Domino's Pizza, making way for their own smoothie and juice shop. How's that for irony?
With their grand opening at 25028 U.S. Highway 19 set for July 1, the couple, who've been together for four-and-a-half years, say Running Smoothie is a great option for people on the go, plus anyone looking for a post-workout pick-me-up.
The business, which gives Miller and Maguire the chance to spend more quality time together and also speaks to their interest in health-conscious food choices, started in August 2014.
"[Holly] went into the kitchen and started messing around with different recipes, and we started making all these smoothies and raw desserts," according to Miller. "We realized, 'Wow, you can make something healthy and it actually satisfies your sweet tooth,' and that's kinda how the concept came."
After Maguire took time to develop their menu items from scratch, the founders were off. For a year, Running Smoothie was a vendor at several weekend markets in the Tampa Bay area before finding their niche at downtown Clearwater's Pierce Street Market, where they've served smoothies to loyal marketgoers for the past two years. Their time as vendors has allowed them to meet patrons face-to-face and build relationships.
Customers love two of their smoothies in particular: Chocolate Rain (banana, Medjool dates, baby spinach, raw cacao, pea protein, brown rice protein, organic raw Stevia, almond butter, chocolate almond milk) and The President (pineapple, papaya, fresh OJ and lime, almond milk, organic agave nectar, ground cinnamon and ginger) — named for the couple's cat, though the creation does have an orange hue.
Of course, smoothies won't be the only drinks on hand. There's a variety of cold-pressed juices, including Sweet Carrotline and Beetsie Boys, as well as smoothie bowls in flavors like Acai of the Tiger. Raw desserts — raw granola and a key lime cheesecake made with avocado among them — are planned once the shop is up and running.
Outside their new physical location, Maguire and Miller also sell an $80 two-day juice cleanse on Amazon, which spotlights 12 juices and is available with free shipping nationwide.
Running Smoothie's "soft grand opening" celebration will feature swag bags filled with samples of raw granola, an aloe moisturizer made locally by one of their friends, magnets and loyalty cards. But the best highlight? Customers pay what they want. The founders see the opening-day offer, valid for juices and smoothies, as a way to give back to the community that's supported them over the years.
