Brian Moore and Paula Taylor spent their childhood summers on their family’s farm in rural Georgia. They have fond memories of those summers with their grandparents. And they also learned a lot about farming during their visits.
“We know a lot about produce thanks to our grandmother,” Taylor said.
Now the siblings are applying that knowledge to their new business venture, Arlee’s Raw Blends. The company sells organic, vegan, and gluten-free cold pressed juice, almond milk, cold brew coffee, salads, snacks and desserts at their new storefront location at 246 Nassau Street.
Arlee’s opened last month after the gutting and renovation of the former Allstate Insurance building was completed. The new store is light, bright and minimalist, and includes several seats and wifi. All of the juice and other raw food are produced on site in the new commercial kitchen in the back of the store.
The anchor product of Arlee’s Raw Blends is its cold pressed juice, which comes in more than two dozen varieties including lemon, lime, beet, pineapple, watermelon, carrot, turmeric, chia, and three kale blends.
Arlee’s juices are used for cleanses. For one, three, or six days, only the juices are consumed. Advocates of the practice say cleanses eliminate toxins from the body, help get rid of bloating and sluggishness, and eliminate caffeine and junk food cravings.
Moore’s wife Arlee was the inspiration for the business. When she was a new mother, she decided to give a juice cleanse a try, and prepared her own fresh juices daily for a 21-day cleanse. She lost weight, had more energy, and a healthier complexion, and was hooked, but didn’t have time to make her own juice every day.
Moore saw a business opportunity, and decided to make his own juices. He asked his sister, a long-time Princeton resident, to become his business partner. She didn’t need much convincing. He always had an entrepreneurial spirit, she said, and she though the raw juice business idea was a winner.
Their juice blends, which they developed themselves, use locally grown organic produce and distilled water. Cold pressing the juice, they say, enables the extracted, essential living enzymes and micronutrients in the juice to be bottled and last for up to 72 hours. The juice is bottled in glass bottles that are returnable. A deposit is built into the price of the juice and is refunded when the bottles are returned.
An 8-ounce juice is $6 and a 16-ounce juice is $10. Shots of wheatgrass, turmeric, ginger, and lemon are $4. Arlee’s also offers bottled almond milks and cold brew coffees.
The store’s other items include kale salad, dried mangos, apples and pears, truffles, kale chips and veggie crackers. Arlee’s offers homemade kale pesto and cashew scallion cream cheese, and their vegan vanilla bean cheesecake has been a big hit, Taylor said.
Taylor and Moore are striving to be a zero-waste business. Everything is recyclable or compostable. They will even reuse the pulp from pressed veggies to make their crackers.
Prior to the opening of the storefront, the business was making deliveries to local households. The juices are also available via mail. The juices are already a big hit with many yoga studio owners and their clients in Princeton, and the siblings are excited about this new phase of their business.
“My grandmother would be so proud of us,” Taylor said.
Arlee’s will celebrate its grand opening next month. Store hours are 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Local delivery for orders over $50 is free from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.