Juice It Up!, one of the nation’s leading raw juice bar and hand-crafted smoothie franchises, named David Bird its new vice president of construction and engineering. A licensed California architect and general contractor, Bird joins the Juice It Up! team with more 25 years of leadership experience in his field, working with national brands including Rite Aid, Fresh & Easy, Wickes Furniture, CVS, and Pep Boys. In addition, Bird has worked with a variety of limited-service restaurants located within retail developments. At Juice It Up!, his responsibilities will include many facets of franchise expansion and project development.
“David has an exceptional background in design, construction, and project management, which makes him a perfect fit for our talented leadership team, and we’re confident his wealth of knowledge will play an instrumental role in our expansion strategy,” says CEO Frank Easterbrook. “As a brand growing at a significant pace, it’s imperative we have skilled, like-minded individuals like David in our ring.”
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, and with more than 80 locations open in five states, Juice It Up! is continuing its pursuit of steady expansion across the nation and is on track to add at least 20 additional stores by year-end. The brand has achieved consecutive, month-over-month net sales growth, resulting in more than 50 percent increases over the past 25 months.
“I’m incredibly passionate about helping brands, especially those that I have a personal connection with, thrive and succeed, and I am beyond thrilled to join the Juice It Up! team,” Bird says. “With so many plans in the pipeline, this is a very exciting time for Juice It Up!, and I look forward to what we can accomplish together.”
In 2010, Bird founded Calvary International Development, a nonprofit job training organization in Haiti that employed nearly 100 Haitians and completed more than 21,500 square feet of building projects in 2014. In 2015 Dave and his wife Darlys decided to return to California after five years of voluntary service in Haiti to become closer with their grandchildren, and the Juice It Up! opportunity provided a perfect fit. His passion for philanthropy will be put to good use at Juice It Up! where social responsibility and community giving are priorities.
With an operations-focused culture, Juice It Up! continues to attract highly qualified new and existing franchise operators to grow with the brand. Ideal franchisees possess an entrepreneurial spirit, are passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and a creative local store–marketing mindset.
