New juice-themed cafe slated to open in Aspinwall
May 22—A juice-themed, fresh-foods cafe is moving into a prime corner location in Aspinwall.
Vibrant Sunshine Juicery Cafe is set to open late summer.
"It's a dream location for our business because of neighborhood access, proximity to St. Margaret hospital, easy access from Route 28 and Freeport Road, has onsite parking and built-in cold storage," said owner Naomi Hoppel, 37, of O'Hara. "For years, we'd drive by 103 Delafield and think, 'Wouldn't that location be amazing?' "
Formerly the location of Patty's Farm Market, the property initially went on the market in March 2021 for $3 million and later listed for $2 million through Howard Hanna Real Estate.
It was purchased by Pittsburgh Juice Co. for $720,000 on April 24, according to Allegheny County real estate records. The property contains 10 parking spaces and is zoned commercially.
Patty Held and her late husband Bernie opened Patty's Farm Market in the late 1990s. But after Bernie's death, a string of strong floods and the pandemic, Patty Held made the reluctant decision to sell.
Hoppel owns and operates The Pittsburgh Juice Co., based out of a tiny storefront in Lawrenceville. Vibrant Sunshine Juicery Cafe is the second location, with a new name, but the same emphasis on a fresh, organic, cold-pressed juice concept.
Cold-pressed juice is a process that makes the most nutritious parts of fruits and vegetables more accessible to your body, Hoppel said.
Menu items will include house-made nut milks, locally roasted espresso, an adaptogenic (a natural substance to help the body adapt to stress), a latte menu, acai bowls, raw vegan snacks, blended drinks, cold-pressed juices, paninis, soups, plant-centric offerings and salads. It will also sell fresh, cut flowers.
Hoppel spent three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Peru after graduating with degrees in architecture from Tulane University.
There, she learned how to engage a community to successfully execute products that she said she didn't always feel prepared for.
She began selling raw, cold-pressed juice to Pittsburgh in 2013 when she returned to the U.S. and opened PJC's flagship store in February of 2014 at 3418 Penn Ave.
Pittsburgh Juice Co. juices are organic, vegan and contain no added sugars or preservatives.
Hoppel hosts a weekly podcast called Vibrant Sunshine: Behind The Scenes.
The new location in Aspinwall will serve as central base for operations.
Naomi's husband Adam Hoppel is a real estate developer and project manager.
"We drew our inspiration from nature. Vibrant Sunshine is a brand focused on the outdoors and we tried to incorporate that with the selection of the site as well as the design of the space — bringing the outdoors in with interior sky lights, large windows and plans for lots of plants in the retail space," Adam Hoppel said. "The design of the building is agricultural by nature, so we look to expand on that with a mural on the side of the building, reminiscent of murals on the sides of old barns."
The company juice truck is expected to pop-up around Aspinwall as an online order pick-up point during lunch hours, and a ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for late August.
"We're excited to make our fresh, organic offerings available in a new neighborhood. We can't wait to meet you," Naomi Hoppel said.
Joyce Hanz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joyce by email at jhanz@triblive.com or via Twitter .
