Health-Conscious Juice Bar Owen + Alchemy Closes In Logan Square

By Stephen Gossett in Food on Jan 18, 2017 6:30PM

Owen + Alchemy / Facebook

The juice is no longer loose on the Northwest Side as juice bar du jour Owen + Alchemy is closing shop in Logan Square, owner Ann Owen announced on social media on Saturday.

In posts on Facebook and Instagram, Owen said the juicer has “indefinitely” closed its shop at 2355 N. Milwaukee Ave., in the heart of Logan Square’s booming New Restaurant Row. Owen + Alchemy will refocus its efforts on wholesale research and development “and the evolution of healthy, sustainable + conscious beverages.”

The juice bar—which concocts a variety of veg-derived “elixirs, nut milks, and plant-based foods”—closed for what appeared to be a temporary “little break” last month, according to O+A’s website, again in order to focus on new products. Now it appears the break will be a bit more permanent.

Owen had previously announced plans to open locations in West Town, West Loop and Uptown—moves which now appear scrapped. "At this point there are no plans for new retail locations as we are focusing our efforts on a shift toward wholesale," Owen told Chicagoist via email.

It remains to be seen whether the Logan closure will affect those intentions. Owen did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Logan Square shop debuted in 2014, and its veggie cold-pressed juices and cleanse packages were a seemingly fast-friend fit in the gentrifying neighborhood. But cost of business hardly comes cheap on the block O+A called home, and those real-estate expenses may have ultimately done them in.

"The traditional retail model is tough anywhere these days, unless you are able to scale relatively quickly and see efficiencies from economies of scale." Owen told Chicagoist. "Wholesale is an entirely different business model and one we are looking forward to exploring."

[H/T Eater]