Woo Juice offers healthy, freshly pressed juices, smoothies in downtown Worcester
Isaiah Tatum and Noel Stemn started their business in Tatum’s basement, with the two longtime friends juicing fruits and vegetables and coming up with new recipes for fresh, healthy and delicious juices and smoothies.
Now, the pair has its own store, Woo Juice, which held a soft opening last week in the Midtown Mall in downtown Worcester.
“There’s a lot more to come and we anticipate a lot of excitement,” Stemn said. “We were nervous, but this week has been a good sample size, so we know we can handle it. People are walking in every day happy that we’re here.”
Tatum and Stemn met in middle school at the Nativity School of Worcester and have been friends ever since. They always knew they wanted to start a business together, but weren’t sure what they wanted to do.
When Tatum took a trip to Atlanta, he saw juice and smoothie bars around the city, and realized there was nothing like it back home in Worcester.
“We went to school in downtown Worcester, and growing up, we didn’t have healthy options,” Stemn said. “We went to fast food places or Dunkin’ Donuts.”
Woo Juice became that healthy option. At first, they would sell at pop-ups, but signed on for their new Midtown Mall space in November 2021 and began working on it in January 2022.
In the meantime, they distributed their juices wholesale and at events, and have sponsored events like the Summer Jam Classic basketball tournament. They also sponsor the Nativity School basketball team, which now sports the Woo Juice smiley-face logo on its jerseys, in honor of their roots at the school.
It’s clear walking into the store that Tatum and Stemn want to honor their history in Worcester. A mural spanning an entire wall shows a knight, the Nativity School mascot, holding a cup of juice, as well as significant parts of the Worcester skyline.
The menu takes inspiration from the surrounding area, as well, with most of the drinks named after streets and neighborhoods of Worcester, like “Green Hill Glow,” “Gold Star Bully,” “Water St. Cure,” “Kelley Splash” and “Tatnuck Tea.”
Every drink is made in the store with fresh fruits and vegetables and no additives.
“What you see on the menu is what you get,” Tatum said. “And it’s made right in front of you.”
The entrepreneurs have carefully created each recipe to offer vitamins, antioxidants and other health benefits, but they also want to make sure their drinks taste good to keep customers coming back for more.
“We want you to forget about the healthy factor and get lost in the taste,” Stemn said.
Woo Juice is starting out slow during its soft opening, with an official grand opening planned for the end of the month, but they soon want to sell merchandise and plan to branch out to other healthy options, such as salads and bowls.
“It’s been really good, if not great. We’re generating traffic just off our soft opening,” Tatum said. “By the time summer comes and things start opening up here (in the mall), we’ll have our own clientele coming in.”
To see the menu or order online for pickup, visit woojuice508.com.
