The Drake Relays bring tens of thousands of people to Drake University, including sports teams, families and alumni. These guests often visit local businesses while in town, but one 11-year-old local establishment has a different look to it this spring.
Lifestyle Juices, a family-owned restaurant on University Avenue, moved to a new storefront right next door to its old location on Feb. 25.
The store was started by owner and father Nico McQuist. His son Javani McQuist said he’s always been involved with Lifestyle Juices, even when they first started.
“When we first opened, I would just bring in the fruits to help my dad out,” Javani McQuist said. “But it’s really only been us [family] working here.”
From Black Cat Ice Cream to Lefty’s Live Music and Haiku, recent closures of well-loved local businesses have impacted the Drake neighborhood. The area has seen turnover — the metaphysical store Ancient Ways previously occupied the Juice Bar’s current storefront in the corner shop on University Avenue and 25th Street.
Sophomore Rose McGill said she enjoyed the new location.
“The new location was really cute, and I love how they expanded,” said McGill. “The owner was very friendly. He was willing to help me figure out my way around the menu and figure out which smoothie I liked the best.”
In a March 4 Facebook post to the volunteer-run Drake Neighborhood Notebook social media page, community members announced Lifestyle Juices’s location move and hinted at turning the old location into a new ice cream shop, but this is not yet confirmed.
Javani McQuist said he is excited for the opportunities for expansion this new location provides.
“We couldn’t have done it without the help of our customers. Don’t put an end to it,” Javani McQuist said. “We’re getting ready to start selling food, like salads, acai bowls and breakfast foods in the morning too. We’re also going to try Jamaican beef patties, too.”
The new space offers ample seating, a major shift from the original location’s small standing bar, as well as a slate of new menu items.
“[Drake Relays] has a big impact. Before, we were just a small shop, but now, since we moved here, like now we have spaces where people can sit, and that was one of our biggest goals with this place,” Javani McQuist said. “We want them to sit down, enjoy what they’re doing, and just look out — this corner is really nice.”
When looking towards Relays and the future for Lifestyle Juices, Javani McQuist said the family wants to keep the same attitude — making healthy and fresh juices while providing great customer service. The McQuist family gives much of their business’s success credit to the Drake community; increased Relays activity is just an added perk during an exciting time of expansion.
“I walk by it every day on my way to class. … I think that during Relays Week, it will bring a lot of people from out of town to their business who maybe haven’t tried it before, especially since they’ve moved locations and everything,” said McGill.
