Though Better Health Market left Lamp Post Plaza for a larger spot on Washtenaw Ave. over the summer, its health-focused niche was quickly filled. Thrive Juicery took over most of its space in late November. Owners Andy and Anna Mignery are former U-M athletes, parents of three, and evangelists for cold-press juicing.
They met as undergrads–Andy was a football player and physiology major, and Anna a pole vaulter and engineer. Andy signed with the New England Patriots as a tight end but never played and moved on to a career in real estate. He currently works for a company in Houston. Though he gets home regularly, Anna runs Thrive on a day-to-day basis.
She’d worked engineering jobs at Ford and Toyota before leaving the professional arena to raise their three children. Now that their youngest is seven, she says, the juicery was the perfect opportunity for her to get back to work.
The Mignerys discovered juicing last year when Andy had abdominal pain and bloating first diagnosed as celiac disease, but later determined to be a tumor in one lung that caused Cushing’s disease and a high level of cortisol. He first tried to address his problem by juicing, and soon the whole family was making their own juices. Juicing didn’t cure the tumor–it was surgically removed in November–but he attributes his speedy recovery to his new diet.
Included on the menu are seven raw, cold-pressed juices in regular glass bottles or miniature shots. “The quicker you consume it, the more benefit you get. And so we wanted to open a place where you could juice it in-house and have it immediately,” says Anna. Andy compares the pressure exerted by their industrial juicer to the weight of “ten semis sitting on top of a vegetable. What’s left is a dry, sandy, pulp.”
The flavors range from the softer “nutty” juice (raw cashew, raw almond, date, vanilla, and alkaline water) to the spicy “mean green” (jalapeno, kale, mint, cucumber, and green apple). Anna says the most popular juice is the “sweet root,” a blend of carrot, apple, ginger, and lemon.
The alkaline water is also available by itself. “It runs through a commercial ionization first that filters everything out of it … then it gets rid of any of the acidic part of the water,” Anna says.
Thrive also has smoothies made with kale (not the sugary kind), artisan toasts (including avocado and sweet potato), coffee from Ypsi’s Hyperion, and “overnight oats”: a mason jar of oatmeal with nuts, blueberries, and coconut. The Mignerys also offer multiple cleansing regimens.
The interior was designed by Synecdoche, which also designed the Lo-Fi Bar and Ann Arbor Pharmacy. “Thrive” is spelled out in lowercase sans serif black letters on the wall. The decor is stark white save for a counter with flat pieces of protruding dark wood. Matching the counter is a handwashing station by the door. “You don’t have to go into the bathroom to wash your hands,” Anna says, “so everyone naturally just washes their hands, and then they’ll come eat. It’s just another nod to health!”
Thrive Juicery, 2420 E. Stadium (Lamp Post Plaza). (734) 585-5221. Daily 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. thrive-juicery.com
