3/27/2008 Update:

I missed the reader comments more than a month ago, but here’s my POV.

It appears my predictions amongst friends has come true. Re-Juice-a-Nation is bailing on their 14th Street Location…

I’ll sum this up briefly (feel free to contact me for more spot-on business advice if you’d like):

• When you have a street-level retail location, you need strong awareness and brand visibility. Re-Juice-a-Nation had neither. Other than that cheesy “open” sign, this place caught no one’s eye. Not sure if it was city zoning or historic preservation that prevented them from being able to “advertise” that there was someone alive in there, but the place had very little traction. An awning would have made a WORLD of difference.
• Not sure what inspired them to continue to name it a complicated to spell name (Re-Juice-a-Nation)… but try spelling that fast. Word of mouth via email was severely hampered by their excessive use of non-alphabetic symobls in their name. I’ll buy the place and name it “Juice Hut” or “Juice for Joo” or “Juice got to be kidding me” and immediately double their sales volume.
• I’ll re-iterate that brand awareness is imperative for street-level businesses. Whether it’s eye-catching window displays, high-contrast logos, or inviting entrances. Re-Juice-a-Nation had none of the above. You couldn’t quickly determine where the front friggin door was! It was doomed from the get-go. NYSC or not. Each time I walked by, the employee of the moment was sitting there contemplating suicide.

Regardless, I have nothing against them, they just needed to think through their business model and image better. Hopefully they’ll get a buyer. But 139 grand is way too much. Seriously! Cut your losses and offer the biz up for 75k and you’ll wash your hands of this debacle quickly and move on to the next step in your life!!!!

7/24/2007 Update:

Saw the big “O P E N” letters in the window. They’re not open yet. The owner was nearby with one of the employees, and it seems as if they’re having some issues with “permits”. They seemed a little skittish and unwilling to discuss. I asked when? A day? A week? The girl said “Maybe Wednesday or Thursday”.

7/13/2007 Update:

Soon in Hoboken frequently means “Don’t set your watch by it”.

It appears that the re.Juice.a.Nation is getting a little closer to opening. Things are happening inside, and they even put a help wanted Craigslist ad out.

Not sure who else they’re going to be hiring, but my suspicion is that one of the jobs is to replace the person that wrote this ad. Gosh, I got a headache reading it.

COMPANY:
Re Juice a Nation

POSITION:
MANAGER AND TEAM LEADER

WE ARE LOOKING FOR FRIENDLY, ENTHUSIASTIC, MOTIVATED AND OUTGOING PEOPLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUCCESS OF OUR COMPANY. WE ARE A FAST FOOD ESTABLISHMENT THAT CATERS TO A HEALTH CONCIOUS CONSUMER. WE ARE CURRENTLY A THREE STORE OPERATION WITH PLANS OF EXPANDING IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

JOB DESCRIPTION:
ASSISTING THE OWNERS IN THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS
DIRECTING DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS
HIRING AND FIRING
ORDERING PRODUCT

QUALIFICATIONS:
MUST HAVE EXPIERANCE MANAGING A MULTI STORE OR A HIGH VOLUME SINGLE STORE OPERATION.
ABILITY TO HANDLE A WIDE VARIETY OF TASKS AT ONE TIME WHILE SERVING CUSTOMERS.
MUST HAVE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS.
HIGHLY ORGANIZED, ENERGETIC, TEAM ORIENTED INDIVIDUAL WITH A POSITIVE CAN DO ATTITUDE.
MUST HAVE A STRONG COMMITMENT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE COMPANY.

9/21/2006:
Here we have the sister store of the downtown re.Juice.a.Nation coming soon to 14th and Bloomfield in the St. Louis Condo building.

Description - Juice bar
Services - Smoothies, Juices, Boosters, Soup, Fruit salads, Nutrition bars, Salads, sandwiches. Take Out
Website - www.rejuiceanation.com
Address - 14th St. and Bloomfield St., Hoboken, NJ 07030
Telephone - TBD