BLEND Smoothie and Salad Bar in Middletown, NY off of Route 211 sits in a plaza surrounded by fast-food chains like Popeye’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King. These options are typical for the area of Middletown, which is densely packed with low-cost grab-n-go choices that fit the lifestyles of locals and Orange County Community College students and staff. Not only does BLEND stand out for its healthy options and 90’s music playlist, but the friendly staff also keeps people coming back time and time again.
BLEND Smoothie and Salad Bar was opened 6 years ago by current CEO, Alaina James. James attended John Jay College in New York City where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. After graduation, she still felt that she could be doing more to help people. She returned home to New Windsor and started her Nursing degree at Orange County Community College. Although helping people in need made her happier, she felt there was a better way to help others before they reached a severe place in their health.
Alaina’s aversion to pharmaceuticals drove her away from traditional medicine and drove her toward a more whole approach to healing. Alaina realized that she wanted to heal her local community with food and her first step was to find a high traffic area that really seemed deprived of healthy options. The healthiest option near BLEND’s location is a protein shake at the gas station that has a 2-year shelf life. “If it can last two years on the shelf, you can only imagine what that’s doing inside of your body”, said James.
At 25, Alaina took whatever equipment she could get her hands on and opened the flagship store in 2014. As the store started to gain more business, Alaina started purchasing new equipment and hiring new employees. What started as a way to get small communities access to local and nutritious food, soon expanded to Middletown and various ShopRite locations throughout the region. BLEND tries to stay as local as possible when sourcing fruits and vegetables. Lawrence Farms, John Medura Farms, and Newburgh Banana are just a few of the local companies that BLEND goes to for its apples, greens, and (you guessed it!) bananas.
Feedback from customers was positive enough to have business hours expand from 6 days a week to 7 days a week.
The customers are really what inspires the business to keep growing. The feedback from the community is overwhelmingly positive. Even just before our meeting to talk about BLEND, James was talking to a customer who has been undergoing treatment for cancer and was supplementing treatment with a whole foods diet that BLEND was instrumental in making possible.
BLEND Smoothie and Salad Bar is also heavily involved with the local Boys and Girls Club to provide education on diet and healthy eating habits. In addition, they minimize their waste by delivering leftovers to the program. Anything they can’t compost that could be used, like avocado pits, are also donated to the Boys and Girls Club for them to use as an educational resource.
“Fruit is perfectly imperfect,” said James when asked what struggles the business faces from day-to-day. “The customer expects that each smoothie is identical to the last and that’s just not very realistic when you’re dealing with real fruits and vegetables… That consistency that you get in smoothies at franchised restaurants is from the contents being modified to taste the same every time and it’s not natural.”
The business is still steadily expanding. They have plans to open a new store at the end of January at 475 Route 17M in Monroe. The location is next to the new Planet Fitness. So, if you’re looking to start your year off on a healthy note and stick to those New Year’s resolutions, check out the BLEND Smoothie and Salad Bar near you!
New Windsor
Location: 357 Old Forge Road, New Windsor, NY
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat 8am-7pm, Sun 9am-5pm
Middletown
Location: 265 E. Route 211 Middletown, NY
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-8pm, Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 9am-5pm
Shoprite of Cortland Manor
Location: 3140 E. Main Street Mohegan Lake, NY
Hours: 7 days a week 8am-8pm