Jamba Juice opened a new location in Dupont Circle with tennis star Venus Williams on hand at the 19th Street store. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Alejandra Owens. You can find her at her food blog, One Bite At A Time. Alejandra also writes for City Eats DC, a Food Network site, where you can book dinner reservations. Follow her on Twitter at @frijolita and email her at alejandra[AT]borderstan.com.
The opening event in Dupont even featured Venus Williams, who is not only a tennis celebrity but also an entrepreneur. Williams and Jamba Juice created a partnership that brought the smoothie chain to the District. Williams said that her partnership with Jamba Juice is an extension of her commitment in the fight against obesity and to promote a healthy active lifestyle.
Jamba Juice holds a special place in my heart. See, there was a location of this smoothie chain not far from my Phoenix, Arizona, high school. Young, rebellious students that we were, sneaking off campus a little bit early to extend our off-campus lunch time was our singular goal most days. The coordination efforts began early — 1st period even. Someone with a car that day would be identified, another would distract the parking lot monitor, then we would all lobby and jockey for a position in said car. Most days we got out of the high school parking lot just fine, other days we were glumly told to turn around and wait until our lunch hour allowed.
So when I heard Jamba Juice was opening a franchise here in DC, something tugged at my heart strings. It was like I was 16-years -old all over again, speeding out of the parking lot listening to a recently released “She Bangs” by Ricky Martin (what? we were young… and stupid… or something). The franchise has expanded their menu offerings substantially since my Ricky Martin days — offering smoothies, yes, but also probiotic drinks, flatbread sandwiches, teas, oatmeal and parfaits.
