First Course: West Hollywood Juicery Serves Up Drinks With a Punch Of Color
Author:Valerie ChenJuice Served Here is not your typical grab-and-go juice shop. Candles, BKR water bottles and on-trend publications such as indie darling Kinfolk Magazine are all for sale, meticulously displayed on industrial shelves. A refurbished wooden communal table from Big Daddy’s Antiques, a wrap-around bar and other tables both in the shop and in the serene backyard patio are accompanied by window seats, benches, stools and chairs predominantly customized by REHAB Vintage Interiors. Think cool coffee shop vibes – minus the dirty chai lattes, plus 100 percent organic, pressed juices in 16.9 ounce glass bottles.
The 780-square foot space hosts a stylish mix of design elements.
Spelled out on the wall across from the juice bar is “Never Conventional” in all-caps, an ode to the shop’s mantra and mindset. At first glance, the text color appears to be distinct from the wall color. However, the lettering is actually made of transparent vinyl, cleverly playing with tonality. A visitor also may assume only one type of finish was used to paint that same wall. In reality, two paints in the same color but in different finishes – one matte, one glossy – add surprising dimension to its surface.
Cold-pressed juice flavors include The Redhead, Block Rockin’ Beets, The Pipe Cleaner and Virgin Rosemary.
This preeminent attention to detail epitomizes West Hollywood’s newest juicery on the booming West 3rd Street. And when you learn that co-founders Alex Matthews and Greg Alterman both have fashion in their DNA (Matthews was previously a retail director for denim company G-Star RAW, and Alterman is founder of California-based Alternative Apparel), you immediately understand the foundation behind such details, along with the juice bar’s modern yet earthy decor.
Large windows and Californian sunshine light up Juice Served Here and give West 3rd Street’s onlookers an inviting sneak peek.
The co-founders have friends in the right places, too. They enlisted the help of award-winning local design firm Bell & Whistles, with designers Barbara Rourke and Jason St. John at its sophisticated helm. Rourke and St. John brandish an impressive list of prior work, including the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles, Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica and Lafayette Hotel in San Diego.
The window’s steel grating dates back to the 1920s and helped unify the geometric theme of the juice shop.
Choosing to focus on the bones of the building, the team stripped and sandblasted the ceiling to expose its original wood. They also pulled in a theme of geometric shapes throughout the shop, inspired by the 1920s steel grating outside the building’s top front windows. Vintage floor tiles from a San Francisco estate, vintage garden fixtures, and a sculptural wall made of vivid white and natural cedar further promote the conjointly contemporary and natural feel. Though black and white largely constitute the color palette, the co-founders and designers worked with Pantone to implement Pantone 805 (not to be confused with red or orange; this neon hue sits between the two) as eye-catching bursts of color.
Natural wood, geometric shapes and industrial fixtures are key components of Juice Served Here’s California-modern aesthetic.
(Left) The statement sculptural wall continues through the wrap-around bar. (Right) Bought in raw and in less-than-ideal condition, the communal table was stripped, refinished and essentially refurbished.
More Juice Served Here storefronts are slated to open in the Los Angeles area – including in Pasadena, the Arts District, Silver Lake and Santa Monica – so we’re excited to see just how the juicery’s very California-modern aesthetic will evolve. 8366 W 3rd St, Los Angeles. Open Monday – Saturday, 7:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Sunday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
