Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Bottleson.
Hi Amanda, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My best friend, Mara Boord and I both experienced great loss and grief throughout our mid 30’s to early 40’s. We were a support system for each other and through these times, began a journey into all areas of health, wellness, holistic medicine and spiritual growth. Mara was also diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases, one of which is celiac. We were both transitioning our families to a gluten free kitchen and we would share articles, recipes, ideas and so on. Somewhere along this path, we started juicing and the more we juiced, the more we read, it all just made perfect sense. Juice is a critical and important part of our health! We noticed the difference, we both felt amazing! The science backs it up, cold pressed juice is packed with enzymes, healthy gut bacteria, phytonutrients and hydrates at a cellular level. It occurred to me that we didn’t have a Juicery in our community. With my background in managing medium size business and Mara’s in the corporate world of finance, we believed we had the combined skill set to make this dream a reality! Not to mention, Mara is a gifted culinary genius! We went to work learning everything about the cold pressed process and perfecting our recipes! The most perfect spot came available, and the rest is history!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In most ways, it really has been! From the beginning, we knew we would provide the highest in quality (only organic ingredients, every item in our juice bar carefully and thoughtfully sourced), but our team and the work environment was our top priority! We slowly built a like-minded team, our core still with us since opening! Amy O’Neil, our Regional Manager and honorary partner in GF, started with us shortly after we opened and she is our family and the face of our business! Our other two managers, Catherine Henesh (Hyde Park Assistant Manager) & Chrissy Pavlik (Hyde Park Manager) have been with us not too long after Amy and are also like to family to us and the care and love they give to Green Farm shows and every customer can attest to their experience with this team! Behind the scenes we have Clare Wiley, Jacqueline Fournier and Jasmine Draper who make the juice with the utmost care, efficiency and absolute love for the product and their job! If one cucumber is off, this crew will find it and remove it from production! Nothing gets past them.
Covid of course did prove to be a challenge, but as we had to close the lobby, we shifted to deliveries and online orders.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My background is in management, running our family business for 25 years. I was able to apply my practices learned my years as CEO of Youthland Academy to the business model and plan for Green Farm. Mara’s background is in economics and finance; she worked at BlackRock since graduating from Berkley in the 90’s. I had pursued a study in yoga, Ayurveda and meditation along the way, and we were able to mix all these years of work, training and studying health to build our idea of the most perfect juice and smoothie bar.
At Youthland, I managed dozens of corporate childcare centers and franchised locations as well. A few years after opening our first store in Blue Ash, we were approached about franchising. That was never part of our intention, and upon careful consideration and through, we believed we had created a wonderful business that could bring success & fulfillment to others. Our model is centered around an onsite owner and franchising makes sense and the only way to bring Green Farm to other communities.
What’s next?
We currently manage two stores, Blue Ash & Hyde Park locations in Cincinnati. We have two Cincinnati area locations that are franchises (Mason & West Chester) as well as an additional franchise in Cleveland. Mara and I have partnered with our Cleveland franchisee Melissa Roddy to grow more franchised locations throughout Ohio. We are looking for very likeminded people who want to own their own business, specifically a juice bar and want to be there so their Green Farm, like ours, is a community center focused on all thing’s health & wellness! What truly makes our Green Farm so incredibly unique and special, aside from our amazing juice combinations, nutrient dense smoothies, snacks & salads is our roots in our communities. Our team lives in the community, we have a membership program to save costs on juice & smoothies, so our stores see hundreds of regulars each week. I promise this, we know all their names and for many their stories too! We partner with experts; we have hosted large wellness fairs in the community, and we teach intro to Ayurveda, yoga workshops and juicing educations! So in conclusion, we hope the sky is the limit!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://greenfarmjuicery.com
