Gather Juice Co. is bringing back its Tacoma location this spring, nearly four months after closing it and its Puyallup store last December.
Owners Sean and Gretchen Doyel are teaming up with new partner Clayton Braw to revive Gather Juice Co. 2.0 at its longtime spot on 2612 6th Ave.
Doyel told What Now Seattle both locations closed following the company’s recent expansion into Puyallup.
“It just didn’t work. It was a super extended build timeline and super extended budget compared to what we originally planned for. By the time we actually opened, we were just out of runway,” he said. “But, Tacoma has always been a great location for us. It took off almost immediately when we opened in 2019. It’s been a consistent performer.”
With that in mind, Braw, a regular at the Tacoma shop, recognized Gather Juice Co.’s potential and was disappointed to see it close. He began brainstorming with the Doyels on how to bring it back.
“People started reaching out when we closed, and one of the people that I connected with was somebody who was a regular customer,” Doyel said. “He was excited about it; that excitement is something that just feels more workable long-term. Somebody that’s like, ‘I liked what you had. I saw that exactly what you had worked. I understand the logistics of why it all didn’t work.’”
The shop plans to keep everything the same with its fan-favorite juices, smoothies, acai bowls and toasts, though Doyel said they plan to expand the menu in the future.
“I think our most popular toast is our everything avocado toast. It’s a thick slice of local sourdough from a bakery in Seattle. There’s a full avocado smashed on top of it. We make, in-house, both an herb and spice blend and a cashew-based chipotle aioli,” he said. “Our most popular smoothie is one that’s fairly simple. It’s our blueberry nut butter smoothie.”
The goal of the meals at Gather Juice Co. is not only to offer the community a healthy alternative, but also to ensure guests feel full and fueled when they leave.
“I want to be able to eat at a place that is very deliberate about ingredients and food quality, but have it fill me up. That’s what everything on the menu tries to accomplish. We want to make it easy to eat in a way that makes you feel physically good,” Doyel said.
He continued, “We use whole, real ingredients. No syrups. No artificial flavors. We don’t add water to our juice. It’s all squeezed fruit and vegetable juice. We don’t add ice to our smoothies. If anything needs a little sweetening, we’ll use a date, agave, or maple syrup.”
Doyel said he is excited to reopen the busy Tacoma outpost and hopes to expand again using lessons learned over the past year.
“Our goal is certainly a few locations. Our ideal location would be in Gig Harbor,” he said. “I have always liked a small team where you know everyone, so we’re not like, let’s have 100 locations. It’s like three to five local locations. We’ve learned a ton of lessons the first time around regarding what we need to think about for expansion. But that’s all down the road.”
The team has not announced an official reopening date, but guests can visit the Gather Juice Co. website and follow along on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
