Over-the-Rhine offers everything from a donut shop to a walk-up taco window, and soon it will be getting its first juice bar. We’re not talking smoothies — we’re talking nutrient-dense, cold-pressed juice funneled into a pint-sized glass container.
Cincinnatian Cydney Rabe started juicing more than five years ago, back when “juicing” wasn’t even considered trendy. Since then, juice bars have exploded in major cities (Los Angeles has more than 40 of them), and companies like BluePrint and Pressed Juicery have grossed millions hawking their pre-packaged juices. Up until now, the only way Cincinnatians could get fresh, cold-pressed juice locally was either purchasing it from a store like Whole Foods or making the juices at home (cold-pressed juicers generally start around $100 and can cost up to $1,000).
Rabe, her friend Annie McKinney and Rabe’s brother Steve Vickers are making things easier for Cincinnatians with Off the Vine juice bar, hoping to kickstart the juicing revolution when they open in October. After moving back from Chicago where she worked at the Trump Tower, Rabe opened OTR’s first Pilates studio, core a movement studio, a couple years ago. As an OTR resident, it made sense for her to continue proto-neighborhood inventions.
“When I was down here, there was nothing for me to get, like an easy, healthy option,” she says. “I really felt like the neighborhood could use it — kind of the same way that I did the studio. They started out just as personal passions, then it was like, ‘Alright, there’s probably other people who like juicing.’ ”
She would be correct. Since the announcement a few weeks ago, every day someone excitedly asks Rabe when they’re opening. Which is lucky, considering the idea was almost jettisoned.
“When I initially approached people, a lot of the response I got was, ‘I don’t think Cincinnati’s ready for a juice bar,’ ” she says. “I’m sure it’s ready. Every big city’s got one, why shouldn’t we have one?”
A year in the making, Rabe corralled Vickers, who had an established culinary background working at The Celestial and other local restaurants. She also approached fellow core Pilates teacher and friend McKinney.
“Body awareness through movement is how I describe Pilates,” McKinney says. “I connected that with my passion for food wellness and how food makes you feel. I think that Cydney and I kind of have this parallel passion for body awareness in different ways. … We realized what a great partnership that was with those passions.”
So what makes cold-pressed juice different from taking an orange and sticking it into a household juicer? A cold-pressed juicer, unlike a centrifugal system, doesn’t heat the produce — it uses hydraulic pressure to squeeze every ounce of juice and nutrients out of the raw produce.
“The reason that I juice is because there’s no way in one day I’m going to be able to get two to three pounds of vegetables and all the nutrients that come with it in one sitting,” Rabe says.
The shop will have a black-and-white scheme and won’t look anything like Jamba Juice. “I didn’t want it to come across as a franchise type vibe,” Rabe says. “I wanted it to feel really unique.”
Juice heads will be able to stop by and purchase an 8-ounce juice ($6) or 16-ounce ($8-$10) juice in a reusable glass bottle that can be returned and recycled. Customers also will be able to purchase a set of juices for a one, three or five-day juice cleanses (where juice substitutes for solid foods). Juice will be made with a massive Goodnature juicer that can make 20 gallons of juice in an hour. The drinks will range from sweet, like a nut milk with coffee, to bitter green juices. They’ll concoct their idea of a smoothie called a raw shake where juice will be the base and customers can add fruit and seeds to it.
“When you’re initially purchasing [juice], it feels like I’m spending a lot of money,” Rabe says. “But when you think about how much it would cost you to buy all the vegetables and all the produce in it, it’s actually such a great deal.”
They’d like to bring healthy juices into the workforce, and offer a drink delivery system. With juicing, the possibilities are infinite.
“We want you to feel comfortable coming in with questions,” McKinney says. “Why is this green? Why do I want to drink this? I want everyone to feel 100 percent comfortable and maybe teach someone something that they didn’t necessarily know.”
“We want people to juice, but we also expect you to eat,” Rabe adds. “We don’t expect you to just live on juice.”
OFF THE VINE is located at 1218 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. Keep up with the shop’s progress at facebook.com/otvcincy.
