May 9, 2017 By Christian Murray
A Sunnyside juice company is branching out and is opening a store on Skillman Avenue.
Cooldown Juice, which opened at 39-11 47th Avenue in 2015, plans to open a second store at 48-19 Skillman Avenue by June 1.
Eric Barthels, the owner and a Sunnyside resident, said the Skillman Avenue store will focus on serving the end retail customer—primarily Sunnyside and Woodside residents. The new store, unlike his 47th Avenue location, will not be used to produce and sell juices for corporate clients nor to do deliveries.
“The new store will be hyperlocal, where people will walk in sit down and have a juice,” Barthels said. He said that he there will be six to eight seats and he will also be offering his customers vegan GMO-free food.
Barthels said the focus will be on the juice—as opposed to the food—and anticipates that 85 percent to 90 percent of the store revenue will come via juice.
Cooldown Juice offers an array of cleanses and juices. Flavors include the “Delhi Defender,” a mixture of carrot, pineapple, orange, lime, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric; “Dr. Greenthumb,” a mixture of green apple, cucumber, spinach, kale and other greens; and “Essential Elements,” a mixture of almond milk, spinach, cacao, dates, vanilla and bananas.
Barthels said he loves Sunnyside and that opening a Skillman Avenue location was the logical net step. “Skillman Avenue excites me with businesses such as Sunnyside Yoga and Stray Vintage located there. There is a lot of foot traffic and there is the farmers market and Sunnyside Gardens.”
Barthels said he has no plans to close his 47th Avenue store, saying that it is profitable.
