The Big Squeezy is bringing its cold press juices, smoothies and acai bowls to Hammond, where it will open its newest location on Sept. 3.
The store will be The Big Squeezy’s first location outside of the Baton Rouge market, its eighth overall and one of three new stores slated to open by the end of September.
The other two new locations will be in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, though owner Ash Shoukry declines to say just yet where specifically they will be located.
The Hammond store will be in a 2,500-square-foot space across from the gates of the Southeastern Louisiana University campus. Shoukry believes there’s plenty of untapped potential in the market for a healthful food vendor because there’s essentially no competition.
“There aren’t any juice bars in that area and we felt there weren’t any healthy food options for students,” he says. “There’s just one Smoothie King. Everything else around the university is fast food.”
The Big Squeezy, which first opened near the Perkins Road Overpass in 2013, has been rapidly expanding since Shoukry took over the company from its original founder in 2016. It opened six stores in two years and has more planned for this year and beyond.
Though all the stores are company owned at this point, the Big Squeezy is looking into selling franchises, Shoukry says. It also has invested in new equipment and three refrigerated vehicles. For now, the company will continue to produce most of its cold-press juices at its flagship location on Perkins Road and transport them to other locations. But as it expands, that model may also change.
“We have a lot of exciting things going on,” Shoukry says.
