I'm convinced that the pretty people in line at the juice bar, the ones with athleisure clothing clinging to their perfectly toned buttocks, dress specifically for the occasion. It is important that one look appropriately fit and healthy when purchasing the elixir that promotes such health and vitality.
I have never liked green juices, nor have I felt adequate enough or had enough cash to comfortably visit a juice bar. In some parts of the city, a glass jar of juice has become its own status symbol, and the name on the glass is an indication of your level of wealth.
And when was the last time the person behind the bar throwing celery into the Robot Coupe asked you if you'd like to modify your green juice? Or did he make eye contact? Or did they treat you like you were cool enough to pay $15 for their proprietary kale, celery, and cucumber blend?
On a recent visit to Kathy's Kitchen, a small market and juice bar in Hyde Park, owner Kathy Alston emerged from the kitchen a few seconds after I placed my order.
“Try it,” he said, then handed me a splash of moss-green liquid into a plastic cup. “Let me know what you think. Do you want me to increase the ginger?”
I looked at her in disbelief and then drained the cup. The juice was electric with lime and spicy with spicy ginger. The celery balanced the acid, a little salty, a little grassy. My eyes widened at its freshness. I was instantly addicted.
Alston is a master at blending juices. The former engineer bought a Vitamix in the late 1980s and began making juices and smoothies for herself, her family, and her friends. She avoided additives. She embraced organic whole foods.
“When I had my babies, I switched from breast milk to formula and started studying the ingredients,” she said. “I started noticing the chemicals and the bad things there.”
Alston watched as his grandfather suffered from diabetes and died at the age of 57. His father died at the same age after suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and a stroke. Alston's mother died at age 67 from diabetes and subsequent congestive heart failure.
“I look at my own family and think there is a problem with the American food system,” he said. “When my mom was sick there was no place to go for someone to serve her better foods and low-sugar drinks. She was just not available.”
When Alston retired from her career as an engineer, she started a juice business. He sold his juices at his local farmers market in Crenshaw, expanding to Atwater Village and other markets around Los Angeles. Driven by a desire to provide her family and neighborhood with healthier options, she opened her first juice store on Crenshaw Boulevard in Hyde Park in December 2020. By January 2023, she was able to accept EBT and added a small market area with products Fresh, pantry staples and packaged meals from local chefs.
The day's product deals are displayed in boxes near the door. They change frequently, with everything Alston finds at the multiple farmers markets he visits each week. It also sources its kale from Grow Good, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that runs an urban farm in Bell.
“People don't know how hard I work to get great products,” he said. “Whatever's in season, that's the flavor of this week. “I feel comfortable with what I do.”
A Soul Bowl from Kathy's Kitchen in Hyde Park.
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
In addition to the juices, there is a small menu of bowls and tacos that showcase the week's bounty. You can build your own Soul Bowl with black beans, greens, collard greens, red cabbage, avocado, onions and many other products. I order mine with a base of red cabbage sautéed until soft and sweet mixed with sprouts. It's topped with mounds of mashed avocado, pickled onions, green olives, and crumbled feta cheese with spicy jalapenos.
After a week of eating mostly brown foods, the name seems very appropriate. It's the kind of food I would like to eat several times a week. And at $15 a plate, maybe I can afford it.
Even with the store, Alston continues to sell his juices at farmers markets to keep the business going. Providing your community with healthy foods is only half the battle.
“There needs to be a fundamental cultural shift towards healthy eating that includes providing information, advice and products that make people want to change from old bad habits to new, healthier habits,” he said.
The store survives mainly thanks to regular customers who buy juices for $12 and produce in bulk. While I was waiting for my order, one of their regular customers walked in and headed straight for the refrigerator in the corner of the market. He loaded a cart with various juices and prepared foods. Alston knew his name and told him about the week's specials.
“I don't have anywhere near the regulars I thought I would have, but I get it,” he said. “I'm competing with what's in the food system, and if you're addicted to salt and sugar, I can't compete.”
On the way home, I opened the three bottles of juice, eager for the hit of freshness to snap me out of my afternoon slump. Lemon, ginger and turmeric were bottled in the sun. I finished half the celery, cucumber, and kale in two greedy gulps. But I'm hooked on celery, lime and ginger. I guess I'm a green juice person now.
Where to get your next green juice and Soul Bowl
Kathy's Kitchen Market and Juicery, 7701 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 814-8208, kathyskitchenla.com
