Bengal News West Reporters
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After months of planning, Press Raw Foods &
Juice is almost ready to open its doors to health food lovers on Grant Street. Since moving from Horsefeathers Market
on Connecticut Street, owner Esther Pica is excited to officially put down her
roots on the West Side.
Once open, Press will provide all organic raw
food and products, including ready to order juices and smoothies. In addition,
Pica also anticipates doing home deliveries for people who are taking part in
cleanses.
“Great thing about this place is that we have
retail space so we can sell the ingredients to people to go home and
experiment,” said Pica. “Because the only license we could get
without having to change the use of the building is food retail, everything is
packaged to go.”
Pica has called Buffalo home since 2011. However, she freely admits the choice
to make the move from New York City to open a juice bar occurred entirely by
accident.
Pica, on her transition from New York City to Buffalo:
“The market in New York was oversaturated with
juice bars, so I was looking for a college town with a warm climate,” said
Pica. “I started looking for a
house based on zip codes.
But I had mistakenly transposed two of the numbers. So, when I thought I was looking at a
house in Georgia, in actuality, I was looking at houses in Buffalo.”
Due to the cheap prices, Pica decided to buy a
house in Buffalo originally as an investment. Later, she started doing research and was encouraged by
businesses like Prish Moran’s Sweetness_7 to look into opening her juice bar
nearby.
Sara Ali, is a SUNY
Buffalo State student who
has written for Human Athletics about the benefits juicing can have on
the body and understands the important role a juice bar can have on the health
of community.
“Fresh juice is loaded with nutrients, vitamins
and minerals,” Ali said. “You can
satisfy your body’s need for the essentials with (a) day of juicing.”
According to Ali, juicing can play an important
role in the body’s ability to heal itself and is a key part of the Gerson method, which is a natural
treatment that requires the intake of large quantities of raw juice.
“By juicing fruits and vegetables, you remove
the insoluble fiber which the digestive enzymes are locked away in,” said Ali. “Juicing allows you to access those
enzymes you normally cannot by eating the produce.”
Beyond providing products that are good for the
body, Pica’s new building, located at 197 Grant St., also strives to be good
for the environment.
“This building is a green renovation,” said
Pica. “It’s got geothermal heat and there are sun panels on the roof. We are
marketing everything in as green of a way as possible.”
Pica boasts that all plastic products she uses
are cornstarch based and biodegradable and has a goal to create as little waste
as possible.
“All the produce that we have is going to be merchandised,” said Pica. “With there being a lot of young
families in the neighborhood, they won’t have to go all the way to Elmwood to
get an organic banana.”
Abaca Press, which is located at 9 Lafayette
Ave., is owned and operated by Peter Sowiski. He agrees that providing families
in the nearby area with more options, beyond shops on Elmwood Avenue, is
positive for the entire West Side community.
“Obviously, when this happens it creates a spill over that benefits
the whole neighborhood,” Sowiski said
Pica anticipates having a soft open
before the New Year. Once her
shop is open, Pica plans on advertising coupons and sample opportunities on her
shop’s Facebook page.
Despite the delays, Pica is in no rush as she
plans on being here for the long-haul.
“I love Grant Street,” said Pica. “My heart
belongs to Grant Street and my house is right around the corner.”
