Opening a Juice Bar in a Small Town: Toni McCarvel of Wild Honey
Toni McCarvel, founder of Wild Honey in Richland Center, Wisconsin, shares how she built a juice bar, cafe and bakery from scratch in a small town. On this episode of Goodnature Radio, Charlie and Chef Ari Sexner catch up with Toni on site, just weeks after Wild Honey's grand opening.Toni came from a nursing background and grew up on a farm in North Dakota. She walks us through the whole journey of working with the Goodnature consulting team. We cover branding first and letting the brand guide the menu, with honeybees, jewel tones and gold throughout. From there, the conversation moves to developing and simplifying the menu with Ari, adding a coffee program, and baking bread and bagels in house. Toni also explains her screen-printed juice bottles and the story behind the Wild Honey Colada. We also get into a question many new juice bar owners ask: should you stay plant-based or add meat? Toni shares how she balanced her values with what her community wanted, working with local farms and keeping it simple. She also explains how customers are already growing from sweeter juices toward greener ones.If you are planning a juice bar outside a big city, or wondering how a turnkey consulting package comes together from brand to opening day, this one is for you. Huge thanks to Toni for taking time out of a busy day to join us. Chapters 0:00 Live from Wild Honey 1:16 Meet Toni McCarvel 4:52 Life in Richland Center, Wisconsin 8:02 Working with Goodnature consulting 11:11 Building the Wild Honey brand 15:53 Developing the menu with Ari 18:14 Adding a coffee program 20:39 Sandwiches, bakery and juice bottles 26:25 The smoothie program 29:24 The famous lemon ricotta pancakes 31:57 Plant-based menu vs adding meat 35:14 Growing with your customers
