Juice bar brings modern atmosphere, natural flavors to smoothie scene
TABBY MERKLE
Nature’s Way Juice Bar, one of Sioux Falls’ newest smoothie joints, is the home of delicious handmade juices and casual, minimalistic vibes. With its modern interior design and simple exterior, Nature’s Way has no trouble attracting customers.
The juice bar staff offers a balance of professionalism and friendliness, especially competent when it comes to assisting new customers, suggesting flavors based on personal tastes or helping patrons create their own juices. Drinks are mixed behind a glass wall that protects the juicing machines and allows customers to see what’s going on.
The Nature’s Way menu is expansive, including predetermined “signature” juices, smoothies and a “build your own juice” option that allows customers to select three ‘base’ fruits or vegetables and add in other flavors. Size options for juices are 12 or 16 ounces. Prices range from $4 for smoothies to $6 for select 16-ounce juices. While this may seem steep for juice, the fresh fruits and vegetables, the time put into the drink plus the staff’s service and experience, justifies the price.
Juices truly are juices, instead of the thin smoothie or thick juice that was anticipated. I tried the “Post Workout” juice made of kale, green apples, cucumber and green grapes. The taste of the kale was indistinguishable, and the most prominent flavors were the cucumber and green apple. On a second visit I again tested the “Post Workout”—this time with pineapple and grapefruit added and the “Kitchen Sink” juice.
The “Kitchen Sink” was a mixture of nearly every ingredient on the “build your own” menu but remained dominantly fruit-flavored. All the drinks were incredibly good, but the fruitiest of the trio was the “Kitchen Sink.”
The Nature’s Way Juice Bar is located at 2604 S. Louise Avenue. The outside appears basic, but the inside truly seals the deal and pulls the whole business together. The interior color palette consists of muted yet bold yellows, oranges and greens. The colors all blend together well and were energizing.
Today’s hits played in the background, which added a contemporary touch. The overall look seemed simple yet contemporary, emphasized by the wall decor. Each wall had one large and informational poster or photo that gave information about juices, vitamins or personal health. These paired well with the decoration and theme of the building.
Along with the aesthetic of the interior, the cleanliness stood out. The juicers were well-kept—cleaned after each juice was made—counters and tables were clean and dry, chairs were pushed in at each table and everything was generally well organized.
One slight drawback was the floor of the main room. It was slightly dirty from customers tracking in dirt, pebbles and general debris, but this is expected when a new business experiences so much customer traffic.
Nature’s Way Juice Bar is a great place for juices and spending time with friends—a potential new hangout for students from the Sioux Falls area.
Nature’s Way is open Tuesday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.
