There’s a new juice bar in town – Ready Set Juice! With a grand opening in early spring, husband/wife owners Johnny and Mangeli Rodriquez are on a quest to improve health. They believe that the critical step in any effective fitness regime is looking at what people are eating.

“What’s fueling your body?” Johnny asked every client when he owned Semper Fit, a boxing gym in Freehold that closed due to the pandemic. According to him, “it doesn’t matter how much you exercise, you need to have the right fuel to truly be healthy.”

Replacing Empty Calories for Nutritious Ones

According to a 2019 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, by 2030 nearly 1 in 2 adults will be obese and close to 1 in 4 adults will be severely obesity – all triggers for other illnesses from diabetes to heart disease to cancer. Johnny is concerned that the pandemic have already increased those numbers.

“It’s too easy to overeat salty and surgery foods, especially during this stressful time,” he warns. Johnny is designing Ready Set Juice with a relaxing homey setting in which to hang out and talk. The wide array of natural juices and smoothies, along with heartier seasonal wraps and salad bowls, provides healthy alternatives for lunch or dinner after a long day at work. “I want folks to make new habits that nourish the soul and body.”

Pre-Workout Juice Shots

In addition to a menu of smoothie ingredients, Johnny and Mangeli are adding a shot bar that will juicy concoctions of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and probiotics tailored to the patrons’ requests.

Discounts for the Heroic

As a volunteer firefighter and former marine, Johnny will offer discounts to first responders, the military and veterans.

Johnny, his wife and two young children recently located from Freehold to town that is a 15-minute drive from Howell.