Susan and George Todoroff of Juicy Kitchen cafe, which is opening on North Maple Road next week.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
As a former personal trainer who also went to culinary school, Todoroff wants to provide nutritious and gourmet food in a warm environment.
“I really wanted a place where you could go to get a really good latte and a really good, healthy breakfast,” she said.
“I want to be a little neighborhood place here on the west side of Ann Arbor.”
Juicy Kitchen officially opens at 6:30 a.m. Jan. 16. It’s replacing Maple Gardens Chinese restaurant at 1506 N. Maple Rd. in a shopping center just north of Miller Avenue.
“We’re a little tiny place, outside of downtown,” Todoroff explained. “I like the fact that we’re this little out-of-the-way gem. I like to find the quirky, little place that not everybody knows about.”
Todoroff teaches spinning classes at Vie Fitness & Spa in downtown Ann Arbor, and she’s been preparing salads for the fitness center for several years. Two and a half years ago, she started a home delivery food business, also called Juicy Kitchen, which now has a steady client base. Todoroff said she delivers meals to 40 to 50 families each week.
“I always had in the back of my mind that I’d like to have a little storefront,” she said.
When the cafe opens next week, Todoroff said she will continue the home delivery business, but hopes to gradually fade that out to focus on the brick-and-mortar business.
“(Home delivery) is my source of revenue right now,” she said. “But it’s a lot of logistics if the (cafe) gets going and we do a lot of catering, I would like to gradually eliminate home delivery.”
Because Todoroff’s husband, George, renovated the cafe space, they were able to keep costs low. She furnished with a mix of items, like church pews from Materials Unlimited.
The Juicy Kitchen cafe menu features many locally sourced and fresh ingredients, prepared by chef Dan Vernia. The cafe will be open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and there will be a refrigerator stocked with carryout options. There is also seating inside the cafe.
The menu will change regularly, but some current menu items include breakfast sliders made with local eggs, fresh veggies and wheat focaccia bread from Avalon; whole grain baked goods; a blood orange and quinoa salad; chicken dumpling soup; vegan chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries; and a tarragon chicken sandwich with dried cranberries and toasted pecans.
There are vegan, vegetarian and some gluten-free options. The cafe also uses coffee from Ann Arbor’s Mighty Good. Price points range from $5 for a breakfast slider, $11 to $13 for a salad and $11 to $16 for an entree.
“Everything we have is healthy,” Todoroff said. “Everything you read, we’re supposed to eat whole grains and we’re supposed to eat fruits and vegetables. It’s so hard to go out to eat and find that.”
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.