New shops are bringing health vibe to plaza
Some small business owners who have enjoyed success in Jupiter are expanding south to a shopping center on the busy U.S. 1 corridor in North Palm Beach, citing its similar, laid-back, community feeling.
One of them is Drew Thompson, a Jupiter native who was drafted as the 80th overall pick by the Minnesota Twins in 2005 and played in rookie leagues and at the Class A level for the Twins and Chicago White Sox before chronic injuries forced him from the game. Without a college education, he didn’t know what to do next.
He o p e n e d t h e f i r s t Ro c k Steady Juice Joint & Acai Bar in the Shoppes of Jupiter, 201 N. U. S. 1, roughly t wo years ago and recently expanded to a second location in the Shops at Village Square, 420 U.S. 1 in North Palm Beach. The cafe next to Jupiter Donuts opened about a month ago.
Thompson said he liked the neighborhood, which reminded him of home in Jupiter.
“It just has a good community feel,” he said.
Ever y thing on the menu i s made with ingredients that are 100 percent organic, said Thompson, who is the son of former Major Leaguer Robby Thompson. There are gluten-free options, and the menu also includes sandwiches, Pumphouse Coffee and ORTEAS, loose leaf teas blended in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. The design painted on the main wall by California artist Aaron Kai channels the Wynwood vibe.
It’s the hometown feel, though, that brought Thompson’s juice bar, a yoga studio and a boutique to the shopping plaza at the corner of U.S. 1 and Anchorage Drive that had a lot of empty spaces until recently. Investors Corporation of Vermont purchased it for $1.9 million from Village Square Plaza and Peter Hotchkiss in November 2013.
Christen Scott and her husband, Preston, opened Power Yoga Tribe at the end of September. They knew they wanted to be in North Palm Beach, Scott said.
“We l i ke d Nor t h Pal m j us t because of that quaintness. It has that small town, beach town feel,”she said.
She said she loves that the plaza is becoming health-centric. She appreciates that the courtyard and the other businesses give people a place to go for juice or coffee when they want to chat after yoga.
A Fit Body Boot Camp is under construction next door to their yoga studio now. The first 28-day body transformation starts the first week of February, owner Jodi Rund said.
Some members who liked the workout they got at West Palm Beach live in the county’s north end and said it was just too far to drive, Rund said. The new location solves that.
“We loved it. It was perfect for our setup,” she said.
Doug DeSantis, the leasing agent for the plaza, said the health focus of the plaza wasn’t necessarily part of the vision. The juice bar was the first to sign on, and “they all fed off each other,” he said.
Bala Boutique, a Tequesta store that carries a lot of Fair Trade, eco-friendly clothing and jewelry, will open its second location Monday on the north side o f t he shoppi ng c e nt e r ne a r Allora Pizza, creative director Sara Boron said.
She and her aunt, the boutique’s owner Donna Barnette, love Tequesta. The North Palm Beach plaza is turning into “a little bit of a Jupiter hub,” Boron said.