Jamba Juice is coming to the UMC.
UMC Food Service Director Shannon Evins said the corporate smoothie chain should be open for business in time for the summer session.
The new shop will be located next to Domino’s Pizza in the UMC. While the official completion date is scheduled for May 15, university approvals and inspections might delay the opening.
Evins wrote in an e-mail interview that the decision to bring in Jamba Juice came “as a result of student feedback and discussions with the UMC Board.”
Evins contacted Jamba Juice in February 2006 to see if the company would be interested in putting a store in the UMC. It was interested and serious contract negotiations began in June.
“Students and the UMC were very interested in bringing in a brand-name concept that would generate strong name recognition and additional revenue for the UMC,” Evins wrote. “And, the Jamba Juice concept offers a much wider array of smoothie options than did our existing vendor, Berry Best.”
The UMC’s decision came as an unpleasant surprise to Berry Best Smoothie Co. Inc. owner David Segal, whose contract with the UMC will not be renewed.
“I’ve been at the UMC for 13 years and now we have to leave altogether,” Segal said.
In addition to the smoothie cart currently located in the UMC near the Alferd Packer Grill, Segal owns and operates a Berry Best shop at 2525 Arapahoe Avenue.
Berry Best is included in the Flatirons Meal Plan for students. Segal said without his stand in the UMC, he will be missing an integral part of his business.
“I offered to stay based on the established clientele,” Segal said. “But it was indirectly conveyed to me that Jamba Juice didn’t want competition.”
Segal said Berry Best was brought into the UMC 13 years ago by former food service directors in an effort to support local business.
“But I guess things change,” Segal said.
Evins said Jamba Juice will pay the UMC a minimum of $18,000 a year, six times the amount Berry Best paid. Jamba Juice is also contracted to pay a percentage of their sales and contribute to the UMC Scholarship Fund.
“This was something that interested the UMC Board,” Evins wrote about the additional revenue Jamba Juice will provide.
Despite Evins’ claim that student feedback called for Jamba Juice, some students expressed conflicting views.
“It’s pretty lame because Berry Best is a local business,” said Tricia Rubi, a junior biology major. “A lot of people are down on corporate companies kicking out local businesses because they can out-compete them with lower production costs. But I’m not going to protest or anything.”
Rubi admitted she would probably buy Jamba Juice smoothies because, unlike Berry Best, they will probably accept credit cards. Other students prefer not to patronize UMC smoothie shops altogether.
“I don’t really like Jamba Juice smoothies. They have like 1,500 calories,” said Kristin Nugent, a sophomore pre-journalism and mass communication major. “I just make my own smoothies at home. It’s a lot more healthy.”
Jamba Juice uses real fruit and 100 percent fruit juice (from concentrate except orange juice and lemonade, which are fresh squeezed on site).
In the past, Jamba Juice faced criticism for the large amounts of sugar present in their smoothies. They now offer “Enlightened Smoothies” with reduced sugar content and fewer calories and carbohydrates.
Jamba Juice spokesperson Tom Suiter wrote that CU joins a league of 18 other college campuses in the U.S. with Jamba Juice retail locations.
“Generally, all of the same smoothies and juices are available on-campus as you would get off-campus. There can be menu variations based on space and other offerings that campus food services may have in adjacent outlets,” wrote Suiter in an e-mail correspondence with the Campus Press.
For more information contact Shannon Evins at (303) 492-8912 or e-mail her at Shannon.evins@colorado.edu.
Contact Campus Press staff writer James Collector at james.collector@colorado.edu
