Kristen Strang (left), Lauren Culp and Jess Pampush look eager to serve up some smoothies at Pulp Juice and Smoothie Bar, which recently opened in Rocky River. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Good health and nutrition are the order of the day at Pulp
By Cynthia Schuster-Eakin
Insights
Published July 4, 2007

Good health and nutrition will never go out of style. That is what owner Dave Gannon thought when he decided to open Pulp, a fresh juice and smoothie bar with low-fat cuisine in Rocky River.

Gannon, a veteran of years in the food service industry, owned and operated It’s Nacho Business and Simply Salad in the Old Arcade downtown. He left the restaurant business briefly to venture into another line of work, but decided that he missed his customers. He was looking for a cutting-edge restaurant concept when he and an associate came up with the idea for Pulp.

“I can feel good about what we are doing here,” Gannon said. “Once people come into this place, they realize that we have a really unique product.”
Gannon likes to describe the fruit smoothies at Pulp as “a fast, nutritious, energizing meal in a cup.” The 400-calorie concoctions ($4.50 for 24-ounce, $5.25 for 32-ounce) are made with yogurt, sherbet, juice and ice.

“I just had a great testimony for our food, “ Gannon noted. “One of our customers has been dieting and replacing his usual fast food lunch with our fruit smoothies, and he has lost 12 pounds. Most fast food is nothing but fat.”

Pulp vitamin enhancers can be added to the classic smoothies, like Raspberry Harmony, made with apple juice, raspberries, bananas and raspberry sherbet, or the Strawberry Extreme, made with strawberry juice, strawberries, pineapple sherbet and low-fat yogurt. High-energy smoothies such as the Mango Bomb are made with sugar-free Red Bull. The Protein Packer, with 40 whopping grams of protein, is created using lactose-free soymilk, peanut butter, chocolate and bananas with whey and soy protein.

Freshly squeezed juices ($3-$4.75) go beyond orange and apple. Offerings are carrot and celery juice, apple and carrot with ginger, carrot and orange, and homemade lemonade. Customers can also get a shot of wheat grass juice, which Gannon said provides the nutritional equivalent of two-and-a-half pounds of green, leafy vegetables in just one ounce. He said wheat grass is a natural appetite suppressant and helps to reduce high blood pressure.

In addition to fruit smoothies and a variety of juices, the restaurant serves homemade soups, salads and made-to-order wrap sandwiches.

“Everything is made fresh to order,” Gannon said. “When you come in here, you know that your food hasn’t been pre-made and sitting in a cooler.” Two soups du jour on the day of my visit were tomato Florentine and chicken enchilada ($3).

Gannon recommends starting the morning with their signature PB & G wrap ($4.50) for breakfast. It contains peanut butter, sliced bananas, honey, crunchy granola and low-fat vanilla yogurt, all rolled into a whole-wheat flour tortilla. Gannon said the wrap is delicious and good for you anytime of the day.

Other popular sandwiches are the chicken Caesar wrap, and the spicy turkey wrap with shredded cheddar cheese and a tangy sauce in a tomato basil tortilla ($5). The white Albacore tuna wrap is prepared with fat-free mayonnaise, shredded carrots, sliced celery, romaine lettuce and cucumber slices in a whole-wheat wrap ($5). Lean roast beef is combined with shredded provolone and mozzarella cheese, low-fat mayo and horseradish in a wrap ($5).

Tuna or chicken can be added to the garden salad. There is also a chicken Caesar on the menu. All dressings are non-fat. Vegan cookies are available for dessert.

Gannon said business has been good and he is very pleased with his location in the former Dairy Queen at 19900 Detroit Road. He can accommodate requests for deli trays of wrap sandwiches for graduation and office parties. He just participated in the Taste of River at the River Days celebration, where he featured fresh juice and the PB & G wrap. Gannon noted that Pulp, open for breakfast lunch and dinner, is going to be adding live musical entertainment on Saturday nights.

Phone Pulp Fruit and Smoothie Bar at (440) 356-0708. Major credit cards are accepted. The restaurant is Wi-Fi capable. There is wheelchair access.