Happy Birthday: The Daily Juice Pulls the Hat Trick

Austinist favorite and Barton Springs Rd. stalwart The Daily Juice is celebrating its Third Birthday this month. We popped in to give our congratulations and to sip on the juice of the day: fresh coconut water, bananas and spirulina, served right out of a chopped-open coconut. We make into the Juice whenever we are thirsting for some fruity or veggie goodness, and sometimes just to shoot the breeze with Co-Owner Matt Shook and his hilarious and gregarious cast of characters/co-workers.

Shook and his partner Keith Wahrer purchased the store, (1625 Barton Springs Road) for which they once worked, back in March of 2003. The Daily Juice offers a wide variety of organic vegetable and fruit juices and smoothies. Customers can make their own or order from a broad array of juices and smoothies already devised by the juice masterminds. The store also carries delicious vegetarian and vegan food products, from the Vegan Snicker Doodle to an assortment of treats offered by Baraka Foods Co., a natural food company owned by Wahrer.

The Daily Juice has become a favorite stop for nourishment and replenishment among locals, and one gets a real sense of community after spending just a few minutes inside the unique store, carved from a cave that was once used as a hideout by the notorious Newton Brothers. Flyers adorn the walls announcing band performances and classes on spirituality and nutrition, as employee-selected music plays over the speakers. "We don't listen to satellite radio here," Shook states proudly. "No middle management telling us what to listen to; we pick it ourselves." Customers can even peruse the discount record bin and take home some Juice favorites to spin on their tables at home.