Juice Bar Will Fill The Bill on Springfield Avenue

HLS Juice Bar & Grill is set to open at the former location of Indigo Smoke (1859 Springfield Avenue) sometime in the next few weeks—probably by mid-April. Co-owner Arinze Onugha said he would like to have opened sooner but he’s still waiting on permits and is finalizing the interior furnishings.

Arinze and his brother Emeka Onugha love the bones of the place. “We’ll keep the same structure as Indigo Smoke with the bar up front –we are a juice bar!” But the furniture and the colors will be changing. Look for brighter and earthier tones, “urban bamboo” and “big funky art.”

The menu will focus on vegetarian and vegan dishes but not exclusively. “Our goal is to be as inclusive as possible. Families have both meat-eaters and vegetarians and we want to be reflective of that.”

So along with the vegetarian wrap and the vegan soy burger, you can order the BBQ Philly chicken sandwich. There will be no beef or pork but diners will find chicken, turkey, tuna and salmon. Vegan versions of every meat or fish entrée will be available. Beverages will be made on site, except for the bottled water and JRINC (Just Real Ingredients No Chemicals), an all natural brand of drinks made in New Jersey.

Down the road, the Onughas will look at creating partnerships with local growers and working with the Maplewood Farmers Market. 

And HLS will be respectful of those with dairy and nut allergies.

“We are very sensitive to those issues,” said Emeka, “and we make it our business to thoroughly sanitize the equipment when necessary.”

If HLS sounds familiar, that's because it is. Emeka opened the first HLS in South Orange in 2001 but called it quits after two years when he entered law school and got tired of dealing with flooding in the location's basement. The brothers re-visited the concept last year in Montclair but their location turned out to have insufficient amperage to support their needs and upgrading the electrical system was an investment that neither they nor their landlord wanted to make.

As they looked around for another location in Montclair, they thought of Maplewood and South Orange.

“We grew up in South Orange and each of us went to school at Columbia High School, at least partially.” Arinze currently lives in South Orange, while Emeka resides in Montclair. South Orange seemed a more likely destination, but when they saw the former Indigo Smoke space they were “blown away.”

Now, they are sold on Maplewood: “It’s a great town,” said Arinze, “and the Springfield Avenue Partnership is doing a terrific job.” The brothers said that the Township and the Partnership have been more than helpful in walking them through the process and Emeka called Partnership director Beth Macdonald “a rock star.”

While others have bemoaned tough times for Springfield Avenue, the brothers see potential.  Said Arinze, “I like the access it affords you to other towns, urban and suburban, from Newark on up.” Their neighbors are certainly excited. With Shakti Yoga & Living Arts, Clain Pilates and The Gym all in the same building, HLS will have a built-in audience.

By the way, "HLS" stands for "Health, Love & Soul" not Harvard Law School, though both brothers have law degrees and Emeka studied at the Wharton School of Business undergraduate program at the University of Pennsylvania. "We felt the law degrees would be a compliment to our entrepreneurial dreams and also a decent fall back if necessary!"

The HLS website address will be www.hlsrestaurant.com but it, like the store, is still under construction.