Maanaan Sabir puts oranges into a juicer to freshly prepare the C-Walk juice for customers at The Juice Kitchen pop-up at 2501 W. North Ave. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
By Meredith Melland
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.
Maanaan Sabir didn’t intend to create a juice spot again, but Milwaukee pulled him back in for the summer.
“I was hesitant about juicing,” he said. “You go through certain fears in your life, and my fear was whether or not the reception would be well-taken.”
Sabir, who previously co-owned and operated The Juice Kitchen and Shindig Coffee at locations in Lindsay Heights and Sherman Phoenix before moving to Miami Beach, Florida, is running a pop-up of The Juice Kitchen at 2501 W. North Ave.
Though his initial plan was to stay for a couple of weeks, he will now be serving juices, smoothies and ginger shots from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday until Sept. 7.
“It turned out to be almost like a family reunion where you see people every day,” Sabir said.
Tony Courtney and Marvin Jones talk at The Juice Kitchen pop-up at 2501 W. North Ave. on July 9. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
Revisiting Milwaukee
Sabir said he’s been focused on healing because of people who’ve been dying because of complications from food-based diseases.
“I think the goal for me was to see how I can push myself, take people through my own healing journey so they can see and be inspired of how to take themselves through a healing journey,” Sabir said.
Before returning to Milwaukee in May, Sabir visited his brothers in Atlanta and worked on his book, “Juiced on Love.” The book is a mix of a memoir, the history of The Juice Kitchen and recipes.
“My goal was just to work on the book down there, come to Milwaukee, juice at some local barbershops, juice some ginger, do some push-up challenges and just promote the book,” Sabir said.
Bria Grant, executive director of Unite WI, offered Sabir the chance to juice in her kitchen. He expected it to be her home kitchen until he arrived and realized it was a commercial kitchen in the building she owns and is redeveloping.
“It was a no-brainer to allow him to come in and give the community a little bit of his flavor for a while,” Grant said.
Grant plans to open Fishbone Seafood & Restaurant in the remodeled first floor of the building by the end of summer.
Fishbone, a franchise based out of California, features a seafood-based menu, but this location will also open in the morning to serve breakfast items and as a lounge in the evening with appetizers, Grant said.
She’s hoping it will be a healthy option for the community, and hopes to incorporate the pop-up into the restaurant’s open-kitchen concept if Sabir wants.
“He’s really activated the space,” Grant said.
Maanaan Sabir, who is running a pop-up of The Juice Kitchen this summer, sprinkles cayenne on top of a ginger shot at 2501 W. North Ave. on July 9. (Photo by Meredith Melland).
Connecting about health
The pop-up has a dry-erase board menu that changes based on Sabir’s feel of what community members need, he said.
He recently offered a celery-based juice for people with gout, and he has also been selling kale salad and a juice detox set.
Grant’s favorite item on the menu is the Black Lemonade, which contains activated charcoal.
Marvin Jones, who stopped by the pop-up recently, is a fan of Purple Haze, a beet, lemon, pineapple and sweet potato-based drink.
“He’s a good brother and has a good service in the community,” Jones said.
After coming in for juice, people stay for the conversations, Sabir said.
“These people would do whatever it takes to make sure that the next person is taken care of,” Sabir said. “So that’s why it’s a local watering hole.”
Sabir hopes to add some stories he’s heard from people in Milwaukee about how The Juice Kitchen helped them reach their health goals to his book.
He said he thinks Milwaukee can either be a trend-setting or trend-following city.
“Because we’re not like a large metropolitan city, we can be really healthy,” he said. “We can do things that other people can’t do.”
For more information
The Juice Kitchen pop-up is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday, or until the juice runs out. Cash or Cash App payments are accepted.
Find more about Juiced on Love here: https://juicedonlove.gumroad.com/l/fbbvm
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.