Photograph by George Sakkestad
Co-owner Rod Cohodas touts the health benefits of the low-fat libations available at the new Total Juice Plus on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
By KATHERINE PETERSEN
Wild Watermelon. Strawberry Supreme. Pacific Peach. Mango Madness. These are just four of the more than 20 smoothies customers can choose from at Total Juice Plus, which opened on Stevens Creek Boulevard in early February.
Co-owner Rod Cohodas, who used to be the chiropractor for the Mighty Ducks hockey team in Anaheim, moved with his family to Cupertino to open the juice bar because he thinks people need low-fat alternatives to fast food. His partner, Ron Cadwell, started the business three years ago in Phoenix, where the two practiced as chiropractors.
"I knew he had a great product and saw how well it did in Phoenix. Smoothies can be filling and very healthy," Cohodas said. Total Juice uses fruits, fruit juices, yogurt and raspberry, orange and pineapple sherbets for their drinks. Non-dairy smoothies with ice for a thickener are also available.
"We don't add any syrups, mixes or powders to our product," he said.
Customers can add supplements to their smoothies or juice drinks from a list of more than 15 that includes calcium, different kinds of bran, bee pollen for a stimulant, ginseng for energy and vitamin C. Two free additions come with each smoothie, and additional supplements cost 40 cents each.
Smoothie prices range from $2.35 to $4.35 depending on size. The shop offers small, medium and large.
Cohodas doesn't worry that Juice Club, one of his competitors, is just three miles or so away. "We're a fair distance apart, and everybody who comes in comes back," he said.
Total Juice Plus also offers more than 10 varieties of fresh vegetable and fruit juices, including carrot, beet, apple and orange, along with wheat grass, a mineral- and protein-rich vegetable concoction, by the ounce. The shop distinguishes itself from other juice bars by also selling sandwiches, brownies, muffins, protein bars and cookies.
Most of the items meet the guidelines of Heart Smart Restaurants International, in that 30 percent or less of the calories derive from total fat and 10 percent come from saturated fat, and the servings contain 150 mg or less of cholesterol and 1,100 mg or less of sodium.
Customers can get their drinks and food to go or sit on bar stools at the shop's granite counters and enjoy them. Cohodas will have outdoor seating by the time spring is in full swing.
Total Juice Plus, 5190 Stevens Creek Blvd. at Lawrence Expressway, Cupertino. Hours: Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sat.-Sun., 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 19, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.