Business & Tech

Raw Juice Company Quenches Plymouth's Thirst for Healthy Fare

Cold-pressed juice company offers raw options from downtown Plymouth production facility.

When one walks into Drought's downtown Plymouth building seeking a refreshing serving of juice, they might initially be taken aback by the stacked boxes and industrial surroundings. 

Co-owners—sisters Jenny, Jessie, Caitlin and Julie James and friend Bianca Colbath—explain that their building primarily serves as a production facility and less of a storefront.

Their product, raw, cold-pressed juice, is made to order on two days' notice and the storefront, they say, isn't your average juice bar.

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Utilizing organic fruits and vegetables, Jenny James says, Drought caters to Plymouth's increasing desire for healthy, artisanal food options.

The James sisters returned to their native Plymouth after years of working in New York City to find a more progressive town than the one they'd known growing up, Jessie James said. 

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Colbath joined the sisters in the move back to Plymouth to open Drought.

While the idea of raw juice has been around for years, the sisters say the business model is on an upswing. When they lived in New York, they said raw juice bars were in abundance, but bringing the idea back home offers something new to the region.

"It's such a simple idea," Jenny James said. "There's nothing like it in the Midwest."

While the juice comes at a premium compared with supermarket alternatives, the owners say customers can taste the difference with the handcrafted, labor-intensive process. 

Customers order their juice online and can pick up or have the product delivered. 

Drought opened its doors at 470 Forest Ave. downtown in April 2012 and offers its high-end product at Center for Yoga at Birmingham Studio, 555 S. Old Woodward in Birmingham and when the Detroit Eastern Market is in season. 

Drought is "happily expanding" at a gradual rate, the owners say, with plans to participate in an artisanal market this year in Chicago, its first appearance outside of Metro Detroit.


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