Charlotte-headquartered Clean Juice announced the grand opening of its 75th store in just three years of franchising. The new “store of the future” located in Lake Charles, Louisiana will be the franchise’s first ever stand-alone building with a full drive-thru and digital in-store experience.

In addition to having a drive-thru, the Lake Charles location is also Clean Juice’s first store to feature all of their new digital technologies, including indoor and outdoor digital menu boards and self-ordering kiosks. It will also feature their order-ahead option available nationwide via the Clean Juice app. These updates will help provide guests with greater options for faster ordering and learning about the various USDA-certified organic products. The new location is owned and operated by franchisee partners Gerard Mack and Doug Gehrig, who previously owned and operated eight high-performing McDonald’s restaurant locations in the same area. Though Mack and Dough both retired at the end of 2017, their mutual love of Clean Juice products inspired them to come out of retirement and open a location of their own.

“This is a monumental achievement for our Clean Juice family,” says Landon Eckles, co-founder and chief executive officer of Clean Juice. “As we celebrate our company’s fourth anniversary and our 75th location, we are even more thrilled to celebrate Clean Juice’s first free-standing location, equipped with a full drive-thru and digital experience to offer even more ease and convenience to our guests. We couldn’t have found better partners than Mack and Doug to be at its helm.”

The new Clean Juice store, located at 4503 Nelson Road, will host its grand opening event on Saturday, August 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. During the celebration, Clean Juice will offer guests exclusive discounts, free product samples, live music, prizes and family-friendly activities. The store will also host a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the mayor on Friday, August 2, to commemorate the grand opening. Store hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“We’re excited to introduce the Clean Juice we know and love to the Lake Charles community and offer guests new healthy and delicious quick meal options,” adds Mack. “As locals, Doug and I will be fully involved in the day-to-day operations, making sure that together with our team members we provide excellent customer service and create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all guests, following the Clean Juice pillars of Smile, Speed and Service.”

Having a personal connection to the company’s core focus of health and wellness through journeys of their own and actually transforming from loyal customers into franchisees, Mack and Gehrig embody the type of partners that co-founders Landon and Kat Eckles seek to work with to expand the Clean Juice brand. Rather than solely focusing on the financial component, the Eckles spend one-on-one time with each prospective franchisee to ensure their values align with the brand’s, including understanding the importance of organic and plant-based foods combined with a healthy lifestyle. Clean Juice plans to continue its rapid growth by partnering with franchisees who have the same passion to propel the company forward and offer high-quality, healthy options to everyone. 

Clean Juice continues its journey in becoming the world’s most plentiful juice bar by providing USDA-certified organic food and beverages to on-the-go guests while building meaningful relationships. The company sources only the highest quality, premium organic ingredients for its organic cold-pressed juices, smoothies, açaí bowls and a recently expanded toast product line, all of which are made on-site directly in front of guests. Clean Juice aims to provide the perfect nutrition that comes only from organic food. When and if there is a sourced or seasonal product that cannot be found organically, each franchise location notifies guests through its “transparency board” in the front of all stores.

Clean Juice recently unveiled its new Summer Menu, featuring several refreshing products such as brand-new Greenoa™ Bowls, açaí bowls, fresh juice, smoothies and more. Seasonal menu items also include Alex’s Lemonade One smoothie and Alex’s Cherry Lemonade One fresh juice with a portion of the sales benefitting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, one of the leading funders of pediatric cancer research in the U.S. and Canada. Every Clean Juice store across the country will also build awareness of the cause by hosting “lemonade stands” and other events to raise money to help cure childhood cancers.