WORCESTER, Mass. - Woo Juice, a new store in the Midtown Mall, is helping bring more people and life back into the retail space.
The shop sells smoothies, juices and wellness shots. They opened in February, with a goal of promoting health and wellness in the city.
Co-owners Noel Stemn and Isaiah Tatum said growing up in Worcester, they didn't have anything like this. Now they are hoping to change that and spread awareness through their fun, Worcester-themed drinks.
"Being inner city kids, there weren't many options for that for us," Stemn said. "We are trying to be the change and help inspire and teach people more about what they are putting in their bodies and being more health conscious."
"What we really wanted to do was make everything Worcester-based," Tatum said. "So all of our names are named after something in Worcester, a specific place. 'Kelley Splash,' 'Green Hill Glow,' 'Crompton Kool-Aid,' for a smoothie, 'WooSox Smiley' for the WooSox."
Woo Juice is one of only a handful of businesses open in the mall so far. It's been undergoing renovations to help make it a place where people want to come to eat, workout and shop.
"Its great, a lot of traction is coming through," Tatum said. "A lot of foot traffic. People come in here and they don't even know what the Midtown Mall looked like because 20 years ago it was completely different."
A gym, Brazilian steakhouse and donut shop are all set to open at the mall later this year.