Projuice reevaluates concept, heads to farmers market

After a promising showing at the Better Block BR event in April, Projuice was looking to open a Government Street location.

However, owner Matt Bruno backed out of the lease of the space next to Honeymoon Bungalow to reevaluate his idea, and the location is back on the market.

“To retrofit that space for food service would have taken tremendous amounts of overhead,” Bruno says. “It didn’t make financial sense to spend all this money in a space I’m renting. I moved away regrettably.”

Bruno will now bring his fresh juices to the Red Stick Farmers Market on Main Street downtown every Saturday. He says he’s partnering with Serop’s Express, using the restaurant’s commercial kitchen during its off-hours to press his fresh juice creations. Projuice will launch the weekend after Labor Day and Bruno hopes to grow the business based on the response.

The concept came to Bruno after a trip to Los Angeles. There, he toured all the juice shops, picking owners’ brains about practices and experiences. Projuice will offer cold-pressed juice with basic fruits and vegetables as the main ingredients.

“This is the next big thing in California,” he says about cold-pressed juices. “It’s five times more nutritional than traditional juices. Its shelf life is 72 hours. The flavors are more crisp. Overall, it’s a better experience.”

The juices won’t be prepared in made-to-order flavors, but there will be a seasonal selection of menu items.

“The possibilities are endless,” he says. “We’ll play with different concepts depending on how the market reacts. We’ll start with a carrot apple ginger, then move into more complicated recipes as we develop our expertise.”

The juices will come in two sizes—a half-gallon jug for $20 or 16-ounce single servings for $5. For more information, click here. —Matthew Sigur