After a friend gave her a juicer, she started tinkering with recipes, sharing her juices with friends and family and eventually morphing her hobby into a business.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Choice Juice Boxx opened its flagship location at 31 S. St. Clair St. in Dayton with juices and smoothies in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wilson was originally planning to juice on demand, but with a desire to provide a convenient option, the juices are sold bottled up. Her grandson, Richard Armstrong, is the mixologist.
That full circle moment
Wilson has always had a passion for fitness and holistic health. While working as a civilian at Wright Patterson Air Force Base for nearly 40 years, she was an aerobic instructor at the Dodge Fitness Center for five years.
Since starting her business, she has become a certified juice therapist and coach — allowing her to empower people to make informed decisions about their health or lifestyle and offering tailored detox programs and nutritional guidance.
Wilson is originally from Dayton and grew up as one of 11 children. She recalled having gardens, apple trees and grapevines in her backyard and picking fresh fruits and vegetables.
For her, this type of lifestyle has come “full circle.”
“Here I am doing something that (my mom) had me doing when I was a kid,” Wilson said.
A juice feast
Choice Juice Boxx is considered an alkaline juice bar where they focus on fruits and vegetables that are high in alkaline such as apples, bananas, cucumbers or oranges. This can help balance the body’s acidity, Wilson said.
“You’re not going on a juice fast. You’re going on a juice feast,” Wilson said. “You’re flooding yourself with nutrients and vitamins.”
She said drinking juices is not the “silver bullet,” you have to be on a regime for results. Wilson recommends drinking up to 24 ounces of juice a day — preferably a green juice.
Possible benefits of juicing include a boosted immune system, increased energy level, better skin health, improved digestion and enhanced mental clarity. Wilson said to always consulting with a healthcare professional.
What to expect
Choice Juice Boxx offers up to 11 different flavors of fresh, cold-pressed juices. Favorites include:
- Mrs. Midnight (carrot, red or green apple, lemon and ginger root)
- Basic Green (celery, green apple, spinach, ginger root and lemon)
- Beet The Odds (beet root, red apple, celery, kale or Spinach, ginger root and lemon)
Lord’s Elixir, a juice named after her grandson, Lord Fredric, features filtered water, fennel and celery.
The juice bar also offers smoothies such as:
- Gem City Shine (spinach, cucumber, celery, kale, romaine lettuce, cilantro, parsley, green apple, banana, pear and lemon)
- Tropical Choice (mango, pineapple, banana and almond milk)
RE’s Strawberry Bliss, a smoothie named after her granddaughter, Rionna Armstrong, features strawberry jam, almond milk and maple syrup.
Choice Juice Boxx is a family affair. Wilson is working with her daughter, Dionna, who is attending Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, to create a health conscious menu of soups and other offerings.
The juice bar has a list of seasonal salads, as well as soups and snacks that rotate. Acai bowls are coming soon.
Other offerings include wellness shots, juice cleanses, ice pops and superfoods such as sea moss. Juices and smoothies can come frozen.
Empowering others to make healthy choices
Choice Juice Boxx will introduce a DIY workshop this year where people can bring up to five pounds of produce to the juice bar and use it’s commercial juicer. Those that aren’t interested in juicing their own produce, can drop off produce to be juiced and have it available in one to three days.
Wilson said her goal is to empower and educate people on making healthy choices.
“It’s important for us to eat healthy,” Wilson said. “A lot of people don’t do it because it’s inconvenient. We want to be that convenient way to get them what they need.”
MORE DETAILS
Choice Juice Boxx is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 4 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (event hours may apply) and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at its flagship store. The space is shared with Varsity House, a clothing and shoe boutique.
The juice bar also has a location at 2nd Street Market, located at 600 E. Second St. in Dayton, across from Invoke. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
As part of a sponsorship with the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign, Choice Juice Boxx will donate a portion of the Beet The Odds juice sales from now to April.
For more information, visit choicejuiceboxx937.com or the juice bar’s Facebook (@choicejuice937) or Instagram (@choicejuiceboxx) pages.
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