Robin Godwin: Pure Raw Juice Opening a Second South Baltimore Location at A2 by Anthem House

Pure Raw Juice, which first opened in an approximately 800 sq. ft. space at 1401 Riverside Ave. in Federal Hill in 2015, will be opening a second South Baltimore location at A2 by Anthem House at 1430 Lawrence St. in Riverside/Locust Point. Pure Raw Juice will be the first business to occupy the 1,304 sq. ft. first-floor retail space at A2, which was completed last year.

Pure Raw Juice Co-owner and President Richard Manson said he expects the Federal Hill location to continue to be popular with the walk-up crowd and the A2 location to be a better location for drivers coming off Key Hwy., residents of Locust Point and Anthem House, Under Armour employees, gym-goers, and runners.

The A2 location will have street parking out front, along with parking at the Anthem House garage across the street. There will be more grab-and-go items available at the A2 location.

The Anthem House project was developed by War Horse Cities in partnership with Bozzuto and Solstice Partners. It occupies the the northern corners of Lawrence St. and E. Fort Ave. in Riverside and Locust Point.

Manson said War Horse Cities owner Scott Plank is a regular at the Federal Hill location and encouraged them to open a location at Anthem House. “He kept coming in and saying ‘guys this is where you need to be,'” said Manson.

Manson said their tight space in Federal Hill can cause difficulties, including lines out the door on weekends. Federal Hill has only four seats, but the A2 location will be significantly larger and “airy” and will allow for more seating, including potentially outdoor seating. The A2 location will have tall ceilings, concrete columns, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a glass garage door that can open up on nice days.

Manson said he is still working with architects to finalize the design and hopes to begin construction in the spring. He has not set an opening date but hopes the weather will still be warm when Pure Raw Juice does open.

Pure Raw Juice sells cold-pressed juices and lemonades; acai, pitaya, matcha, and avocado bowls; smoothies using frozen fruit, no ice, and housemade cashew milk; and fair-trade Peruvian nitro cold brew coffee, which is also included in some smoothies. All of the items are made in-house and are 100% plant-based.

Manson said the most popular item is the traditional acai bowl which is made of acai, granola, banana, and apple juice and topped with strawberries, blueberries, banana, coconut, and honey. He has credited this bowl’s popularity to its health benefits, taste, and picturesque quality that leads to a lot of social media posts.

Pure Raw Juice is also committed to sustainability, according to Manson. Juices come in glass bottles and the smoothies use compostable cups and straws. Pure Raw Juice also has a bottle return program.

The A2 location will likely have the same hours as the Federal Hill location, which are Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 5pm. The new location will hire four to eight employees.

Pure Raw Juice opened a Towson location in 2017, is under construction on its third location at The Rotunda in Hamden, and has another yet-to-be-announced lease in hand for what will be the company’s fifth location. Pure Raw Juice is looking to open additional locations in the near future as well.

“We are beyond grateful for the support we have received, it’s a blessing,” said Manson. “We have served well over 500,000 plant-based meals in Baltimore and have probably saved more than 100,000 plastic bottles from entering the environment. It’s nice to have that type of impact on Baltimore.”

A2 is a five-story, 52-apartment unit building. The building’s tenants share the amenities at Anthem House located across Lawrence St.

A2 was built at the site of a parking lot previously used by former diners Rallo’s and Big Matty’s Diner, which were located at 838 E. Fort Ave. Big Matty’s Diner relocated to Southside Marketplace and rebranded as Southside Diner.

War Horse has started renovating the former Rallo’s/Big Matty’s Diner in preparation for a future restaurant. The former Thornton’s Pub liquor license was transferred to 838 E. Fort Ave. in 2015 as Thornton’s was converted into a Locust Point residence. War Horse is anticipating announcing a new restaurant at this 4,064 sq. ft., two-story building this spring. It will have a back patio in the former parking pad behind the building.