At the bustling heart of Seattle’s Pike Place Market, a newly re-opened small business is making a big impact, one cold-pressed juice at a time. Meet Ro, the owner and founder of rōjō Juice, an organic juice bar dedicated to serving the highest quality, handcrafted juices. But rōjō Juice is more than just a place to grab a quick drink – it’s a labor of love and a tribute to family.
Tell us a little bit about the products and the juice.
I sell all organic cold-pressed juices. Cold-pressed is the highest quality of juice. It extracts all of the nutrients out of the produce, resulting in the highest quality juice that you will ever have.
I started juicing because of my brother who became a quadriplegic later in his life. That’s how Rojo actually really started – I would make juices for my brother, it was part of our daily routine with him. He always said that my juices and smoothies helped make him feel better. That’s how it started, and now we have a whole brick and mortar.
What should a first-time customer order when they visit?
If they have not had their greens, I always tell people to get a green juice. Our green juice is amazing and super well balanced. It’s celery, fennel, spinach, and apple and we use both green and red apples.
I’m not just saying this because they’re my recipes, but all the juices are really good – you can’t go wrong.
What has been your journey to becoming a small business owner?
Ever since I was a little girl, I always thought I was going to be a doctor. I would go to the parks and have little band-aids and stuff just in case a kid needed one. My trajectory was always in medicine.
So I studied, I was going to go to medical school and studied medicine there. I also worked as an ER technician for 10 years. And then I worked at Tesla in sales and was really successful there, but just didn’t find that that was what was fueling me. It didn’t really feel like I was helping people in the right way.
After my brother passed, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but the the pandemic happened and people just kept calling me about juice because they said that they needed something to nurse their bodies during that crazy time. And so I started Rojo and now we’re here.
What are you proud of as a small business owner?
The biggest thing I’m proud of is just being the representation that I didn’t see as a little black girl growing up in Bothell. When I see these little kids and they see my face, and we’re right here in the heart like we have prime real estate and those kids get to see me. The Market isn’t the most diverse place, and so having a black woman be the face of the market is monumental and it means something. It sends a message about Seattle and who we are. I think that’s the most rewarding part about being a business owner.
Why is it important that people #SpendLikeItMatters?
I think spending it like it matters is so important because supporting a small business is supporting your community, and supporting your city. Small businesses are what makes the city – it adds the character and the charm to the city.
What are some small businesses in the city, in the market, wherever that you want to give a shout out to?
- Oriental Mart
- Turkish Delight
- Crepe de France
- Local Tide