Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar: Here’s to Your Health

by Charles McGuigan 04.2021

Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar on Brookland Park Boulevard, which opened two months before the pandemic struck, never missed a beat, and what’s more just established its second location in downtown Richmond at The Valentine.

“I’ve been in business for just a little over one year,” says owner Brandi Battle-Brown.  “I wasn’t even open a full year yet when I got my second location. I was blessed to open here about a year ago on the 25th of January. We never closed for the pandemic, which was a great thing, and I was actually honored to get my second location on December 14 of 2020. Our grand opening at The Valentine is April 5, and I’m very happy to get over there and service a lot of the people in the MCV community.

We’re seated at a four-top table that hugs an exposed brick wall which is hung with paintings by a local, budding artist. This interior space has a honeycomb warmth to it, with the other walls painted a warm sun-yellow. 

“When you go in a house, you know whether it’s home or not when you first walk in,” Brandi says. “People love the vibe we have; they feel like they’re at home.”

Brandi opened her juice bar for two main reasons. One was to provide healthy and tasty food options along with cold press juices, smoothies, home-brewed tea and other toothsome delights, along with a host of add-on. 

“So, I wanted to establish a healthy place to eat for low-income families, and I knew that they were in need of healthy options along the Northside corridor,” Brandi says. 

“But I also wanted to teach people that eating healthy can be good for you,” she adds. “I engage with all my customers. I do education with my customers about what they should and shouldn’t be eating. What’s good for you, what’s bad for you? Because food is medicine.”

And her approach seems to be working.  “I have a great customer base of people coming back in who tell me how much better they feel, choosing a healthier lifestyle,” says Brandi. “It’s very gratifying.”

Support from the Brookland Park and the greater Northside communities has also been gratifying. “I have a lot of support from the neighborhood,” Brandi tells me. “I also have an outpouring of support from the Metropolitan Business League, Black RVA, and the Jackson Ward Collective, so I’m very satisfied.”

Brandi has a keen understanding of the Richmond  market. She’s been an agent for fourteen years now; and her mother, Leigh Battle, has been a broker for the past 42 years. 

“I really feel like Brookland Park is going to be a baby Carytown,” says Brandi. “And I couldn’t have picked a better place for my business to be.”

Brandi invites me to consider what she witnesses through her storefront windows every day. “A lot of people, when they get out on their weekend or weekday strolls, support all the businesses on Brookland Park Boulevard,” she says. “They may get ice cream from Ruby Scoops. They may come here to get a smoothie and a bite to eat. They may go up the street to the Market to get bananas, or over to The (Smoky) Mug to get coffee.”

Along with the food and beverages she serves ups, and the education she supplies, Ms. Bee’s also offers on one of the most essential ingredients of a successful retailer. “We give the ultimate superb customer service here at Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar,” says Brandi. 

It’s something she has seen at Northside businesses on MacArthur Avenue in Bellevue. “I eat over there a lot,” she says. “I love the Mill and Demi’s and Dot’s Back Inn. Me and the kids eat over there every weekend for brunch. They’re small, they’re personal and they have superb customer service. They feel homey.”

Recently, Brandi signed a contract with Lamplighter. “They’ll be carrying my juice products,” she says. “I was ecstatic to know they wanted to carry my products in their store.”

Sometime this spring, Brandi will install a parklet in front of her business with will allow for additional outdoor seating. A parklet is a small seating area running parallel to the sidewalk and taking up the width of a parking space.   

Brandi also gives a lot back to her community. On Wednesdays during the summer, she offers free popsicles for the kids, but she does a lot more than that for our youth. 

“I try to give platforms to coming up artists,” says Brandi. She gestures toward the paintings on the brick wall behind her. “This young artist is only sixteen years old,” she says. “She sells her items here at no charge. And I will be having a couple of different engagements in the garden at the new location, maybe one Saturday a month, to give the youth a platform to sell items that they have created. It encourages the entrepreneurial spirit.”

Ms Bee’s Juice Bar

114 West Brookland Park Boulevard

Richmond, VA 23222

Tuesday-Saturday, 9am-5pm

Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar at The Valentine  

1015 East Clay Street

Richmond, VA 23219

Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm