Owner Jenifer Kuntz searched for fresh food options while teaching yoga after moving to the area from Boulder, Colorado, 20 years ago. Fate struck when an airstream came available and Robert Davis from Seaside called. It became the first home of Raw & Juicy, now an Alys Beach staple serving cold-pressed juices, smoothies, as well as a full slate of coffee beverages.
“We decided to open in Seaside with juices, smoothies, and raw food. I wanted to bring something very different here that wasn’t already available,” Kuntz said.
I quickly realized raw food was a little extreme for this area. We ended up adding cooked food to the menu, but stayed with a vegan theme.”
Dishes like the Costa Rican brown rice with perfectly-seasoned black beans joined the health-conscious raw menu. Kuntz developed the dishes around inspirations from her travels to far-flung locations like India and South America. But she still struggled to get foot traffic. So she started the Seaside Farmers Market to bring more guests to the town. Though a great feeder for Raw & Juicy products, the market struggled in the beginning as well.
“Vendors wouldn’t show up or when they did, people wouldn’t come. I devised this plan to offer breakfasts in the morning—a chef would come and make breakfast with ingredients from the market, and people would come to grab a bite and support us…that was the plan at least. No chefs would come and we struggled for ingredients because vendors still were not reliable.”
The next evolution of Kuntz’s story shows her sheer determination. She went to the community and asked neighbors to come to the Farmers Market and make breakfast. Some days it was pigs in a blanket, others it was eggs benedict, but whatever was on the menu, people came. Kuntz elaborated, “They came every Saturday just to see who was cooking, what they were cooking, and then they would buy something from vendors there.”
Kuntz ran the market for 10 years while simultaneously running her airstream, and building a fan base of others seeking healthy food choices. She pulled up stakes in 2018 and made the move to Alys Beach. Kuntz created a sanctuary of whimsical furniture, fountains, and twisting vines for her first brick-and-mortar location.
But she brought her favorite local products with her to the new expansive space. “We use Sunset Ranch eggs, carry Noli South Kombucha, and Natur Baker pastries. These are all people that started at the Seaside Farmers Market. We’re always on the lookout for who we can support locally as we bring new interesting and evolved products to our community,” said Kuntz.
For Kuntz, the partnerships with local farmers who provide her ingredients, local artists who display their work on her walls, and local musicians who jam out in the courtyard on the weekend, feed her soul.
Raw & Juicy is much more than an organic, plant-heavy juice bar and cafe. Yes, there are lots of healthy options like acai bowls and overnight oats, but there are also mimosas and bloody marys. There are Noli South Kombucha refills without having to wait until Saturday’s market. There’s a stocked grab-and-go case with options like the mudslide pie and Meet the Queen juice, a center table filled with natural beauty products, and a display of “Brag-Worthy Reusable Straws.” You may come for the health-conscious menu, but you will be drawn into the communal atmosphere replete with an outdoor fire pit, adjacent playground, and music in the courtyard from Thursday through Sunday.
“You can bring your dog. You can bring your laptop and stay as long as you want. We’ve worked to create an environment that’s casual and easy with something for everyone.”
We have breakfast, but we also have a full bar with mixers we make in-house. If you want a mimosa with breakfast, you can get it. If you’d like a beer with our lentil beet burger in the afternoon, we’ve got you covered. It’s a great space to come after the beach and have drinks. You can just grab a Swell Pop and go to the park to let the kids play. We want to connect with our community, whether that’s local producers, neighbors, or visitors.”
