A New England-based smoothie shop that last year expanded to Colonial Heights is on the move elsewhere in the Richmond area.
The Smoothie Spot, which originally opened in Auburn, Maine, in 2022, has new stores in the works in Henrico and Chesterfield counties.
Founded by BJ Grondin, Smoothie Spot’s journey to Virginia began last year when co-owner Jeremy Callahan moved to the Richmond area for another job with his wife, Maygan, who serves as a Smoothie Spot regional manager and co-owner, as well as senior director of operations.
The couple knew they wanted to bring the Smoothie Spot to a new area and found what they saw as limited options for the sort of fast-casual smoothies, smoothie bowls and pressed juices that Smoothie Spot serves up north.
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“Once we moved here, we realized outside of Richmond (city limits) there wasn’t anything for convenient, healthy food,” Maygan said.
After some searching, the couple opened the second Smoothie Spot location, and the first in Virginia, at 798 Southpark Boulevard, Suite 32 in Colonial Heights in April of last year.
The success at that outpost spurred them to look for continued growth and they’ve recently signed leases for storefronts at 1366 Gaskins Road in Henrico and 11344 Iron Bridge Road in Chester. The couple aim to open both locations by the end of next month, with the Henrico location likely opening first.
The Henrico location is in Gayton Crossing Shopping Center. Rebecca von Meister of Taylor Long Properties represented Smoothie Spot in the lease.
The 1,100-square-foot space fit what the couple was looking for in terms of comparable size to their Colonial Heights store and a lack of similar smoothie shops nearby. The shopping center, the bulk of which sold last May for $22 million to a Baltimore investment firm, includes restaurants Les Crepes and the Melting Pot, among other tenants.
The soon-to-open Smoothie Spot at 1366 Gaskins Road.
After the opening of the Henrico location and the around 1,000-square-foot Iron Bridge Road location sometime next month, the Callahans plan to open an Emporia location at 103 E. Cloverleaf Drive, about an hour outside of the Richmond area, sometime this March.
The Callahans said they hope with Emporia being right along I-95, travelers coming to and from North Carolina will stop in for their smoothie fix.
And with new locations comes new ideas for the Smoothie Spot menu.
The Colonial Heights shop already has a classic BLT and bacon-guac toast, but the Callahans hope to expand their menu as they expand their business, potentially incorporating some Italian sandwiches into the menu in the future.
“That way, we have something the whole family can get,” Maygan said.