After taking a year to regroup, Ripe Life Juice Co. is ready for its comeback in downtown Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our free e-newsletter

ROCKFORD — If things had gone according to Jamar Luster’s original plan, his juice and smoothie bar would have opened in its new downtown location at the beginning of the year instead of the end.

Luster had planned to open Ripe Life Juice Co. at 333 E. State St. near the start of the year, but was set back when costs to remodel the space and overhaul the plumbing came back higher than anticipated.

With his previous location already closed, Luster had no income coming in to handle the extra costs. So he did something he didn’t plan to: He went back to work. First he took on expedited freight jobs and then he worked at a local hydraulic company so he could earn enough capital to pump it back into his business.

Now, he’s back to renovating his space with a goal to open at the start of December.

He said the time away also gave him time to restructure the business, so he can be prepared with the proper inventory and equipment he didn’t have when he made his first foray into business inside Stewart Square in 2021. That will mean fewer issues with running out of inventory during high demand, and new items on his health-centric menu.

In that way, Ripe Life’s reopening isn’t just a comeback —  it’s an upgrade.

“While I didn’t want it to stop the way that it did, when I look back on it in hindsight I’m happy that I had to sit down for that year,” Luster said. “When I open up now it’s going to be all green lights and I’m ready to do it.”

The fresh-squeezed juice and smoothie shop opened in September 2021 at 308 W. State St., which was previously Bella Luna Bakery inside Stewart Square. Luster closed that location in August 2023, initially planning to move into the old Rockford Roasting Co. at 206 N. Main St. in downtown. That plan fell through, and the space is now Hello Beautiful Flowers & Events.

He then found space next to Weekdays Social Club and The 662 Collective art gallery inside a building owned by a limited liability company tied to NBA star Fred VanVleet and his family.

“Everything I’ve been doing over this past year has been just to get Ripe Life open,” Luster said. “Not everything planned out the way I hoped it would, but I had to keep trying.”

Fans of the shop have been eager for its return, he said.

“It never stopped. Every single day, phone calls, messages, inboxes, I’m out in public and people stop me, ‘hey man, what’s going on? We need you, we need you,'” he said.

Ripe Life offers natural juices and creative smoothie recipes that never include added sugar. There are drinks to boost hydration and skin health, and anti-inflammatory items such as golden milk, which is made with turmeric, maca, cinnamon, goji berry, ginger, black pepper, boswellia, cardamom, coconut water and optional honey.

There are also açaí bowls, and Luster said he’s planning on a few new smoothie options as well as weighing the possibility of vegan tacos.

“For me my main drive is trying to improve the overall health of the city,” he said. “I feel like our people need this. There’s not a lot of healthy options in the Rockford area. There are a lot of places that may offer some healthy options on the menu, but as far as having a place that you can go that is solely focused on health and wellness we don’t have many of them.”

The new location also has bigger refrigerators and more blenders, allowing Ripe Life to increase its ability to serve more customers.

“I was running the place down there with one blender,” Luster said of his original location. “Now I have four blenders. It’s a big step up as far as my output capability.”

Ripe Life will also expand its hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

“I’m just looking forward to serving people better with more consistency and more availability.”

Follow for updates

On Instagram: @ripelifejuiceco

On Facebook: @RipeLifeJuice

Location: 333 E. State St., Rockford

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas