Spinach & peanut butter shakes? Expanding Westport juicery makes veggies taste good

Chris Goode started Ruby Jean’s Juicery two years ago to promote healthier diets.

He named it after his late grandmother. Ruby Jean would gather her family and friends together over soul food. But Goode said the diet — with its high amounts of sodium and sugar — led to his grandmother’s early death.

So he wanted to open a place that would still bring people together but with healthier options.

Ruby Jean’s Juicery opened in Westport in mid-2015. But it’s already outgrown its space. So it closed in May and will relocate to 3955 Broadway, a few storefronts to the north. It is scheduled to reopen this fall as Ruby Jean’s Kitchen & Juicery, offering more prepared foods, as well as more seating. On July 22, a Ruby Jean’s Juicery also opened in the Town Pavilion, 1111 Main St., Suite 165.

Ruby Jean’s sells hand-crafted juices, some that give a nod to its Kansas City roots such as the Heart of America (with beets, strawberries, red apple and red cabbage) and the Fountain of Juice (with the customer’s choice of three vegetables and two fruits).

It also has performance shakes such as The Wolf with spinach, peanut butter, banana, oats, honey, almond milk and vanilla/chocolate protein, a “way to get vegetables in without having the vegetable taste.”

“We start with the benefits, we want to make it as nutritious as we can,” Goode said. “Then we sample and test and see what works. At this point in the game we look at our customers a lot. We listen to them and what they want.”

Grandma’s Wellness Sips include the Apple Cider Vinegar Shot and the I Feel Sick (with double cayenne and ginger) and Grandma’s Smoothies such as the Butter Crunch with chocolate, banana, almond milk, vanilla, peanut butter, pretzels and agave.

Under “Truly Healthy Bites,” Ruby Jean’s offers the Pitaya Bowl with mixed fruits, along with cucumber or avocado toast, sweet potato brownies and more.

Goode also is taking over a building at 3000 Troost Ave. for a retail shop and production area for the shops as well as his cleanse packages — six juices per day starting at $50 for one day.

He also licensed a Springfield location, which opened in mid-March.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Spinach & peanut butter shakes? Expanding Westport juicery makes veggies taste good."