Name of business: Jem Juicery

Type of business: Juice and smoothie bar

Location: 200 North Ave., behind One Church, in Turlock

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

Contact information: 209-585-9817

Specialty: Juice cleanses

History of business:

In 2018, mother-daughter duo Valeria and Elvia Jimenez opened Jem Juicery with the goal of helping people heal through the power of nutritious fruits and vegetables. Without a storefront of their own, the business operated out of a small space at I Am Yoga in hopes to eventually move on into a space they could call home.

After surviving the pandemic’s hardest months, Valeria and Elvia have now moved into a location that is completely their own — a 400 square-foot commercial kitchen behind One Church, where Valeria attends service. The opportunity came as a blessing after plans to move into a downtown storefront fell through due to electricity issues.

“As wonderful as it would have been to be downtown, it didn’t work for what we needed with all of our blenders, refrigerators and juicers. We have so many appliances,” Valeria said. “The One Church pastors are some of our best customers...It was kind of one of those wonderful turn of events.”

Soon, outdoor seating will be set up at Jem Juicery’s new location where customers can enjoy fresh-pressed juices, blended smoothies and acai bowls. After finding that juicing helped them overcome a variety of ailments themselves, Valeria and Elvia have taken to helping others in the community heal through nourishment. 

“Ultimately our goal isn’t about just blasting out fun, colorful juices for pictures, it’s about bringing out holistic medicine,” Valeria said. “How can we conduct food and juice that actually heals the body?”

Online ordering (via www.jemjuicery.com), delivery and to-go orders helped them survive the pandemic, they said. The new space has more refrigerator storage, meaning Jem Juicery can now keep up with orders without selling out — something that used to happen frequently due to the juicery’s supportive customer base.

“It’s been a long journey with a lot of challenges. We just kept pushing through and had a lot of support from the community,” Elvia said. “It’s just amazing to think that we can move around, we have space and we can continue to dream and expand. We’re just in awe of how it’s all coming together.”