By Christopher Holland •The Current Contributing Writer
Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and managing one in itself can be an arduous feat. But, finding the time to open a new business while already managing another takes extra hard work and strong attention to detail.
Maya Kowalcyk, a 40-year-old Lehigh Valley native, opened Jim Thorpe Yoga in 2012 after her mother’s passing, and since has grown her business portfolio to include her most recent endeavor, the Purple Green Juice Bar and Café at 105 Broadway in downtown Jim Thorpe.
“I’ve been passionate about healthy eating, cooking and juicing for years and decided to take the risk and come up with a business idea that I felt the town was lacking in, and something that I would enjoy doing,” Kowalcyk said about the juice bar, which opened in June.
She said that while the juice bar attracts a lot of tourists, she also sees a lot of local clientele.
“Our best-selling juice that people love is the pineapple sunshine (pineapple, apple, ginger and lemon) and our customers are loving our avocado toast and soup of the day,” she said.
“Lately, many are catching on to our new hot drinks like the golden latte with turmeric and a shot of espresso if you like, and our matcha latte or Mexican mocha latte… We’ve also introduced salads since we are really growing our lunch crowd,” she said.
Kowalcyk sources locally as much as possible with produce coming from The Good Farm of Mountain Road, Foothill Farm and The Borger Farm.
“We do use US Foods for some items to help us with the volume of items we need to order,” she said.
The atmosphere at the juice bar as described by customers is bright, open and welcoming.
We try to provide a space where customers feel comfortable hanging out and having a juice or coffee and playing a game of cards with friends or, sitting out front with their lunch and a smoothie and enjoying the sunshine on our patio,” Kowalcyk said.
And with opening and managing any business come challenges.
Kowalcyk said the most challenging part was figuring out all the details of what she needed in order to open the juice bar.
“All the technicalities like getting Serve Safe certified to handle food, and having the appropriate equipment, and getting the needed permits, like the proper sink and drain… It takes a lot more time than you’d expect and problems and obstacles always arise, so I learned to just take it one step and one day at a time,” she said.
And that patience has paid off.
The juice bar is environmentally friendly and is committed to minimizing waste and lessen its impact on the earth.
“We encourage our customers to get their juice in a glass take-out jar with a lid and then bring it back for $1.00 off their next order,” she said.
“This encourages everyone to reuse instead of adding to the trash heap. All of our smoothie cups, bowls, plates, forks, spoons and straws are compostable… So, you don’t have to feel guilty about take-out.”
She said they all break down in about 120 days.
“If we all do a small part, it adds up and we can create significant change for our planet,” she said.
Kowalcyk has always been passionate about the health of the world and the environment.
She studied dance at Muhlenberg College in Bethlehem before attending the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 1997, where she said is where she really became immersed in natural living and natural food by working at Essene Natural Food Products.
That’s also where her passion for yoga came about.
“I started getting into yoga back in college then became more interested through a running industry,” she said.
She opened her own practice to help cope with her mother’s passing and she said it became much more of a spiritual practice then. She now runs yoga retreats to Cape May, New Jersey, and to Costa Rica.
Prior to opening her own yoga studio, which meets twice per week, Kowalcyk taught yoga locally at Flow Restaurant and Art Gallery, the Marion Hose Bar (before it was a restaurant), and at the Mauch Chunk Opera House.
Kowalcyk says that the future is bright for both of her businesses.
“The future is bright! … I’m sure it’ll bring change, as always, and we plan to grow our customer base, which happens on a regular basis,” she said.
“We plan to reach out more to the local business district and help get fast and healthy lunches to local business people.”
The juice bar’s winter hours are:
• Mon, Tues, Thurs: 7 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Fri, Sat, Sun: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Wednesday: Closed
“What most excites me about having the juice bar is that I’m excited every morning I wake up to go to work,” she said.
“I love making delicious healthy food and drinks for everyone and talking to people about health, life, and just connecting with the amazing people I see every day… I might be super tired, but I absolutely love what I do and am super pleased that others are enjoying the juice bar!”
She said that she started hosting monthly health talks and most recently in October hosted a “full plate” talk on easy tips for healthier living with a health coach and nutritionist from California.
Kowalcyk has a few events schedule for this month, both at the yoga studio and the juice bar.
Yoga Studio
Sunday, Nov. 4 is a yoga thon to benefit one of the instructors who was in a bad car accident. It’s from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. with a yoga class every hour by a different instructor. There is a $10 suggested donation. The studio is located at 434 Center Street, Jim Thorpe. More information can be found at www.jimthorpeyoga.com.
Sunday, Nov. 4 is also a restorative yoga workshop with Live Singing Bowls from 3-5 p.m. This is a class to help you deeply relax and let go of stress and anxiety. Holding restful yoga poses for a period of time, focusing on breathing, and listening to the calming sounds of singing bowls will have you feeling rejuvenated and at peace.
Juice Bar
Thursday, Nov. 1 is an art and juice show with local photographer Desha Utsick, with live music from local musician Eric Szollosy playing acoustic base. At this free event there will be drink samples and $1.00 off all juices for purchase.
Tuesday, Nov. 13 is the bar’s next health talk with chiropractor Dan Steigerwalt with a theme of “Your Posture & its Effects on Everyday Ailments and Chronic Pain: Tools for Self-Healing.” The event will run from 6-7 p.m., is $10 and includes the talk and drink samples.
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