This Meridian cafe closed, but folks still try to enter ‘all day long.’ Good news
When Tree City Juice & Smoothie Cafe pulled the plug on its two brick-and-mortar restaurants last year, the closures hit home for Bethany Anderson.
It wasn’t just that she couldn’t savor one of the Idaho brand’s fruit-packed drinks. Not without visiting Boise State’s Student Union Building, where a counter operation kept blending.
Her daughter, Grace Couch, was out of a job. She managed the Meridian location.
But life tastes sweeter nowadays.
Anderson bought the Meridian store’s assets and took over the lease at 3355 E. Fairview Ave., she says. Soon Grace will be running the show again.
The cafe will be rebranded as Happy Juice and Smoothie, which is on track to open in May.
“She was just so bummed,” Anderson remembers, “and we had been kind of talking about, ‘We should just take this place over!’ ”
Thanks to Grace’s prior work experience, there might be a business tweak or two. But customers should not expect earth-shattering menu changes. Instead, Happy Juice will build upon the Tree City “legacy,” Anderson says.
“We will just be expanding upon the already amazing menu,” she explains. “Because Tree City has an amazing following of people. Even to this day — it’s been six months — and I’m doing some construction there, and there are people trying to come in the door all day long.”
Like its predecessor, Happy Juice won’t just sell drinks. A food menu will offer paninis and wraps. Plus, there will be avocado and other gourmet toasts. “And we’re going to expand on the fruit bowls, the acai bowls,” Anderson adds.
And while the vacant Boise store remains listed for lease at 8249 Franklin Road, the interior of the soon-to-open Meridian shop has gotten a vibrant makeover. The gray is gone, revitalized by primary colors as bright as the berries used in drinks.
“I just got it painted, and it looks fresh and fun,” Anderson says. “The whole goal with Happy Juice is to create a really fun environment that feels good.”
It’s a feel-good and a taste-good moment. For mother, for daughter. And for all the former Meridian customers missing their smoothies.
“It’s kind of a really unique opportunity,” Anderson says, “where she had a passion for what she did. And we just decided, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”
