Vie Fitness & Spa relaunches juice bar cafe in downtown Ann Arbor

Vie Fitness & Spa is relaunching its juice bar at 207 S. Ashley St. in Ann Arbor.

Erica Hobbs | AnnArbor.com

If you’ve recently noticed a juice bar in the former Firefly Club space at 207 S. Ashley St. in downtown Ann Arbor, that’s because Vie Fitness & Spa, located next door, has decided to relaunch the juice bar in a new marketing campaign.

“A lot of people didn’t even know we had it,” Assistant Manager Sally Anderson said. “We really wanted to make the community aware that we had these really nutritious and balanced meals.”

The health center opened at 209 S. Ashley St. six years ago and underwent an extensive expansion in 2008 when it added the juice bar, a spa and a spinning room.

But with so many changes, Anderson said most of the public remained unaware of the new spot for smoothies, wraps and salads.

“Unfortunately for the juice bar, it was last on the list for awhile in terms of what we were going to really market,” she said. “It’s the juice bar’s turn to really get the big push.”

Vie Spa & Fitness recently added awnings to its juice bar as part of its new marketing campaign.

Erica Hobbs | AnnArbor.com

Dupuis said Vie invested about $10,000 into the juice bar’s new marketing campaign, which included building renovations, sample giveaways, updating the website and new awnings and signs.

Staff also hosted a free smoothie day in May for the general public and introduced a frequency card where customers can receive a free salad or smoothie after the purchase of 10 salads or smoothies.

Anderson said the bar also has more of a cafÃ© feel now, which she hopes will make it more appealing to gym members and non-gym members alike.

“Everything here is a la carte,” she said. “We’re completely open to the public. It’s not a private gym by any means.”

In addition to juice, Anderson said the bar also started adding salads and wraps, created by Vie’s staff physical trainer/chef Susan Todoroff, and nutritionist Lara Kross.

At $12 per salad or wrap, Anderson said the food is made from only fresh ingredients and is specifically balanced with a healthy amount of proteins and carbohydrates based on nutrition recommendations.

Since the relaunch, Anderson said business has been good.

“I think our average (number of) smoothies sold have almost doubled and so have the salads,” she said. “We’ve gotten a huge response.”

Erica Hobbs is a reporter at AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2537 or via e-mail at ericahobbs@AnnArbor.com.