For the health of it, couple opens Pascagoula juice bar

The Big Green is a specialty drink that’s catching on with customers at the Nura Juice Bar in Pascagoula’s Anchor Square.

It has spinach in it, but what you taste are bananas and nuts. Bridget, a customer standing in line Monday, said she had one Friday and craved it all weekend. A self-described skeptic about how well a healthy juice drink could satisfy her appetite, she’s a believer now.

Nura Juice is catching on. It had a steady stream of customers Monday, even with thunderstorms and downpours. Within an hour, almost a dozen had found their way past the line of little specialty shops in Pascagoula’s downtown business incubator, Anchor Square, to the bright turquoise blue shop in the corner that houses Nura Juice.

Marcel and Kenyetta Kinard opened the juice bar less than a month ago and already are talking about expanding. Their business is making the rounds on social media as more and more people discover it.

The business was a natural development of their four-year personal campaign to eat healthier. Kenyetta was a stay-at-home mom before they opened Nura Juice and now she’s got something to do while the children are in school.

The Big Green has moved into the spot of No. 1 best seller with all-fresh ingredients blended at the shop in front of the customer.

Kenyetta Kinard said her husband made it up one day.

“We had a a few friends in, and we tasted it and said, ‘That’s good,’ ” she said.

Looking to expand

They don’t use powders, but they are considering expanding the menu and using protein powder. She is also considering a line of salads and sandwiches to go with the healthy drinks.

They juice watermelon to create a watermelon lemonade. They blend pitaya — a cactus fruit popular in California for its restorative abilities — with fruit and top it with fruit, nuts or granola to create their Pitaya Bowl. They blend frozen pineapple with coconut water and add other ingredients to create a fresh pineapple smoothie. The list of options is endless, because the customer is allowed so many choices and substitutions.

Marcel created the rough-hewn look of the interior, the bar and flooring. Kenyetta works with a juicer and blender, and packages fruits and vegetables. Some she freezes and some she doesn’t, depending on when she’ll use them. They get deliveries from Four Seasons Produce, a sort of farmers market business in Moss Point.

For most drinks, Kenyetta Kinard uses raw honey, but customers can request sugar. The drinks can be made with avacado, mango, lemons, limes, apples, bananas, strawberry, kiwi, pomegranate, guava, blueberry, acai, almond milk, coconut water, yogurt, carrots, pecans and almonds. There’s a granola topping for the bowl.

“I’m trying to eat healthier,” said Mark Miller, a customer who was checking to see if he could order ahead from the gym for pickup. The answer was “yes.”

He said, “It’s hard to find healthy around here unless it’s a salad.”

At Nura Juice, a 16-ounce drink runs about $3.50, without tax. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s all healthy, no artificial flavors or sweeteners,” Kenyetta tells a customer. “You can make your own blend. We’ll make it up and taste test.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 5:18 AM with the headline "For the health of it, couple opens Pascagoula juice bar."