It took ten months and about a half million dollars, but Juicy Kitchen owners Aaron and Kelby Ziola have succeeded in reopening the popular breakfast and lunch spot after a fire last September closed it down. | Photo: J. Adrian Wylie
Kelby and Aaron Ziola, who married in 2024, forged their long-term relationship in large part at Juicy Kitchen, the breakfast and lunch café at Miller and Maple.
Kelby (née Behan) managed the front of house, and Aaron would regularly sit at the counter with a plate of nachos. “This place is such a big part of us, and it has been for the past eight years,” says Aaron.
Flashbacks: “Susan Todoroff Adds a Café” (Mar. 2013), “A New Owner at Juicy Kitchen” (May 2017), & “The Todoroffs Are Back” (Dec. 2017)
In 2019 the couple, then in their mid-twenties, took over from retiring founders Susan and George Todoroff. Continuing their focus on healthy fare and community, they survived the next year’s pandemic disruption with expanded wholesaling and a GoFundMe appeal that raised more than $12,500.
But on September 17, 2025, another disaster struck.
“Aaron and I were sitting at home one evening, had just had our dinner, and we got a call from our wholesale manager,” Kelby recalls. “They were here cooking after hours, and she was like, ‘There’s a fire at the restaurant.’
“It was super surreal when it was happening. I remember driving here, just so much anxiety, but then we pulled in and saw the smoke and the fire trucks. I just remember, like, ‘Our baby!’”
A merchandise freezer only a few years old had caught fire. It took a microscopic inspection to find the cause, as Aaron explains: “The quick connect, where the cord connects to a circuit board. So that basically started a small fire, and then these new refrigerants, they’re more eco-friendly, but they’re flammable. So as soon as they reached the refrigerant, then the whole thing went up.”
Fortunately no one was injured, and the fire would have been worse without staff there to notice it. But it’s taken ten months and about a half million dollars to revive the restaurant. Juicy Kitchen was on the verge of reopening as the Observer went to press.
Determining liability took some time, and damage from fire, smoke, and firefighting chemicals required a near total replacement of mechanical systems, equipment, and their interior within the multiunit building. Complying with codes updated since its 1977 construction was another factor. “The idea that we’d be shut down for this long never really crossed our minds,” Aaron says.
As hands-on owner/operators, “we have a lot of control of everything, we’re calling the shots,” Kelby says, “but throughout this project we have very little control of timelines.”
Their insurance, along with their landlord’s, covered most of the rebuild, and a business continuity policy kept them and their staff solvent for a while. Kelby says another GoFundMe campaign, this one raising over $28,000, helped them retain eleven members of their team of fourteen.
“You ask the second time around, you’re kind of like, oh, I don’t know, people may be like, ‘I’ve already donated,’ right?” she says. “But no, they really showed up and had our back, so that was so touching and heartwarming, for sure.”
Another upside is a fresh start: more reliable plumbing, better climate control, and new equipment and furnishings. They reduced seating during the pandemic in favor of prepared foods coolers, but now they’ve added a long bench and will accommodate more tables inside, along with patio and picnic seating shared with their “like family” neighbor El Harissa, Kelby says.
The Ziolas are more than eager to welcome back customers. “When they place an order, we take names so that we get to know them,” Kelby says. “We’re so small, so sometimes there’ll be someone sitting by themselves at a table and another single person will walk in, and the next thing you know, that person invites the other person to sit with them at the table, and next week they come and have another lunch date together that they plan. So little things like that, where we just see relationships developing, I would say is kind of what makes us special.”
The fare, from breakfast burritos to smoothies and baked goods, makes “no compromise on flavor,” as Aaron puts it, while offering many options for vegan or gluten-free diners. “We always say you can take your meat-loving dad and his vegan daughter out to breakfast, and they’ll both find something they like,” adds Kelby.
Among their bestsellers is a breakfast sandwich with an over-easy egg, avocado, sriracha, goat cheese, and roasted peppers. They’re keen to the new irony in its name.
“When we bring it to a table,” Kelby says, “people will be like, ‘I’m the Hot Mess.’”
Juicy Kitchen, 1506 N. Maple. (734) 585–5562. Wed.–Fri. 7 a.m.–2 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 8 a.m.–2 p.m., closed Mon. & Tues. juicykitchen-a2.com
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