Local area husband/wife duo are proud to open neighborhood place offering right food to be healthy while giving back to the community!
This Friday, April 30th, Howell Mayor Theresa Berger, Councilman John Bonevich and other guests will join in a 9am ribbon-cutting of Ready Set Juice, a juice+ bar in Howell, NJ, at Howell Plaza Shopping Center. There will be free samples, activities and hourly raffles (11am-4pm) though out the day until just before closing at 5pm AND a 25% discount on smoothies and juices! There will be friendly ribbing between the Mayor and the Councilman as they compete for the best smoothie of their own design – all to benefit New Jersey Blood Services.
Participating in the ribbon-cutting will be Johnny and Mangeli Rodriquez (owners of Ready Set Juice), Howell Mayor Theresa Berger, Councilman John Bonevich and Lynne Ross, Account Manager, Donor Recruitment, New Jersey Blood Services.
When: Friday, April 30th – All Day Celebrations
- 9-9:30am Private Ribbon-Cutting
- throughout the day 25% Discount, Tastings & Free Raffles
Where: 4134 U.S. 9, Howell NJ 07731 at Howell Plaza Shopping Center
(at the corner of Route 9 South & Aldrich Road)
Smoothie Competition and Fundraiser
Howell’s Mayor Theresa Berger and Councilman John Bonevich each have been asked to design a smoothie. Over the next two weeks, as both smoothies will be offered as a special — for each one sold, Mangeli and Johnny will donate $2 to New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS), which has a donor center several storefronts away from Ready Set Juice. The winner’s (based on sales) smoothie will then be sold for another two weeks – accompanied by much bragging rights! NJBS will benefit from those sales as well.
Money collected during this promotion will be used to fund a NJBS’ Bloodstock® scholarship for a local high school or college student who saves lives by organizing a blood drive and recruits donors to the drive. The Bloodstock® scholarship is an opportunity for students to demonstrate community service, leadership and team building through the planning and sponsorship of a community blood drive.
The husband/wife owners are on a quest to improve health with the debut of their Ready Set Juice. Mangeli came up with name and tagline, Drink What Your Body Deserves, to convey energy, exercise and a nutritious way of life.
Their wide array of natural juices and smoothies, along with seasonal open-faced toasts and salads, will provide healthy alternatives for lunch or dinner during or after a long day at work. In addition to a menu of smoothie ingredients, Johnny and Mangeli are adding a shot bar featuring juicy concoctions of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and probiotics tailored to each patron’s preference. The space is designed with bright, clean colors and a relaxing vibe to encourage people to hang out and talk, with masks on, of course.
Replacing Empty Calories for Nutritious Ones
What’s fueling your body?” Johnny asked every client when he owned Semper Fit, a boxing gym in Freehold, NJ, 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.”
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 and Mangeli are concerned that the pandemic has already increased those numbers.
“It’s too easy to overeat salty and sugary foods, especially during this stressful time,” they warn.
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.
Johnny and Mangeli live with their two young children in Millstone, NJ, — just a 15-minute drive from Howell.
Ready Set Juice will be open M-Sat 7am-6pm and Sunday 11am-4pm.
Background
Howell Plaza Shopping Center, with a “shop local” sensibility, is situated in the center of a major retail corridor in Monmouth County’s dynamic Howell Township. It is located on the corner of Route 9 South and Aldrich Road and is readily accessible from any direction.
Originally built in the 1960s with expansions in 1972 and 1987, this outdoor shopping center is filled with family-owned stores. The something-for-every-family-member theme has evolved over the years with the addition of music and dance schools, virtual reality gaming, a hardware store anchor, the U.S. Post Office anchoring the other end, a card and sports collectibles store, laundromat, nail salon and a pool supply store and more. With a physical therapy business, blood center, urgent care and restaurants that are layering on healthy food options, Howell Plaza is also known for its health and wellness offerings. www.HowellPlaza.com
New Jersey Blood Services is a division of New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe). A nonprofit organization, NYBCe is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in America. There are five locations throughout NJ. NYBCe provides lifesaving blood products and services to hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut and Pennsylvania and supports hospitals throughout greater America.
The organization’s Bloodstock® scholarship is for a local high school or college student who saves lives by organizing a blood drive and recruits donors to the drive. The Bloodstock® scholarship is an opportunity for students to demonstrate community service, leadership and team building through the planning and sponsorship of a community blood drive.
