Juice News
Ex-Marine high on juices opens healthy new spot at tony Lewisville center
Lewisville, there's a new juice place in town and the name has many syllables: Called Salubrious Juice & More, it's a small chain opening a location at The Realm at Castle Hills, the mixed-use development at SH 121 and Josey Lane.
According to a release, it'll open in April with organic juices and juice cleanses, acai bowls, smoothies, paninis, and avocado toast.
Proprietor is Ajay Sharma, a McKinney resident, 2016 SMU graduate, and former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a translator. Stymied by chronic exhaustion that threatened his military career, he sought a lifestyle change that included improving his diet.
"Every deployment we eat MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat), food with no expiration date," he says in a statement. "It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that's not good. And when I got home, my diet was even worse than when I was deployed: Big Gulps, microwaved Hot Pockets, Doritos."
Sharma turned to juices and smoothies as his antidote.
"Green juices were the prescription for putting my body in an alkaline state," he says. "The juices tasted horrible, but I didn’t care, taste was the last thing on my mind. I persisted for 30 days even though the green juices made me miss MREs! I hoped the juice fast would be helpful. Instead, it essentially gave me my life back. Today, I am full of energy. I run or workout every day. I jump out of bed easily. I show up to work early and enthusiastic."
Sharma's turnaround inspired queries from friends, so he started working on recipes. Ba-da-bing ba-da-boom, he opened the first Salubrious Juice & More in Frisco in 2016.
Menu highlights include:
- The Evergreen smoothie with mango, pineapple, kale, spinach, and dates
- Fruit Salad smoothie with strawberries, blueberries, mango, and mint
- Rise and Shine juice cleanse, with carrots, oranges, apples, and lemons
- Mean Green juice, with parsley, celery, cucumbers, cilantro, apples, and lemons
They extract their juices from organic fruits and vegetables with a hydraulic press, which Sharma says preserves nutrients. "The juices are easy to digest due to a lack of pulp, contain no added preservatives or sugars, have vitamins and minerals, and have a longer shelf life than average store-bought juices," he says.
At the Realm at Castle Hills, Salubrious Juice & More joins other food & beverage optins that include The London Baker, Worth the Pour, and El Patio Mex-Tex.
Salubrious may have many syllables but it means "to promote health," Sharma says. "I jump out of bed every day happy, passionate, on time and ready to promote health. Marines love a good mission, and this is mine! I call it my 5th deployment."
Vodka Sauce Pasta at Elephante.Photo courtesy of Elephante
Elephante Espresso Martini.Photo courtesy of Élephante
A dramatic central bar anchors the restaurant.Photo courtesy of Elephante