Juice Bars Squeeze Into Region

Vendor plans 15 more stores in next 18 months in region

ONTARIO, CA (Monday, March 20, 2006) - An Irvine chain that operates 29 juice bars in Riverside and San Bernardino counties is getting ready for a major expansion.

Juice It Up!, which opened its first store in a Brea strip mall in 1995, has agreements to open 15 more franchised stores in the Inland Empire, said Larry Sidoti, the chain's founder and vice president of business development.

Those stores are expected to open during the next 18 months.

"The Inland Empire has always been one of our hottest markets," Sidoti said. "It's a great area, and it's kind of a well-kept secret in the retail industry. In Los Angeles and Orange County you're talking about some expensive real estate. But you can still fit an economic model into the Inland Empire."

"If you took our top 25 stores, probably 17 of them are in Riverside and San Bernardino counties," he said.

Juice It Up! serves a menu of smoothies - a blend of fruit, yogurt and sherbet - as well as ! shakes, nectars, non-dairy coolers, hot teas, cocoas and organic coffees. Its main competition is San Francisco-based Jamba Juice, Sidoti said.

The company's most recent Inland Empire store opened March 15 in Rancho Cucamonga, at Fourth Street and Milliken Avenue.

Juice It Up! operates 90 stores in six states; all but a few of those are franchised. Its current plan is to add about 55 stores this year and another 50 stores during 2007.

The chain expanded too quickly and "hit a wall" during the late 1990s, but Sidoti said he is not concerned about repeating mistakes.

"There's a lot of development going on right now, and if we find a good location with the right tenants, then we go," he said. "Before, we got some sites that were too large, because we thought we could make it work anywhere, which wasn't true. But we've learned our lesson."

Juice It Up! restaurants usually cover 1,000 to 1,200 square feet and employ 10 to 12 people.

The average bill is $4 a person. Sidoti did not say how much J uice It Up! stores average in yearly gross, but he said its local stores are among the chain's most profitable locations.

Juice It Up! wants a population of at least 20,000 within a mile of its stores, and a median family income of $75,000. It also prefers to locate near an intersection that handles 30,000 vehicles a day.

A Juice It Up! franchisee spends about $225,000 to start a store.

Now is a good time for Juice It Up! to expand, said Dan Titus, a Chino Hills business consultant who works with the juice bar industry.

"They have a good concept, a good product and they've weathered the storm," Titus said. "They're a good solid second within the industry to Jamba Juice."

The company offers franchisees training, site selection assistance, prototype architectural design and assistance, ingredients and recipes.

View all Juice It Up! Press Releases

This article has been read 172 times.

Printed From:
http://www.thefranchisemall.com/news/articles/15042-0.htm