After years of hustling his juice around the city of Pittsburgh, Sharif Rasheed has finally opened the doors to Safi Juice, his new health shop located on Penn Avenue in Garfield.
Rasheed began the Safi Juice company in late 2014, but he has been familiar with the concept of juicing for most of his life. His father, who’s now 63 years old, has been vegetarian since he was 18.
“I’ve been drinking juice and smoothies since I was six,” says Rasheed.
With a passion for fitness and well-being, Rasheed always knew he wanted to be in the health industry. He was living the healthy lifestyle himself, but a serendipitous chat with the owner of popular New York City juice chain Pressed Juicery pushed Rasheed to spread this passion to others.
“Health is for everyone. You can work with anyone,” says Rasheed. “You might not be the healthiest person, but we can start today. I want to meet people where they are, and grow together.”
Rasheed start making juices and selling them to his coworkers. In early 2015, he started to work on developing a label, name, and finding a commercial kitchen to produce his juices. From there, it was all about working hard to make a consistent product, and spreading the word of his business.
“I got a blue cooler bag and would leave at it the YMCA. I would tell my boss I was getting coffee, and would run outside, grab my bag, and start ask strangers in the street to taste my juices,” laughs Rasheed. “A lot of people know me from that blue bag.”
Eventually Rasheed got suspended from work for a week for selling juices. He saw that week as his make-or-break time.
“I decided to work hard that week, and see if I could actually do it. If I made it, I would go back on Monday and quit my job.”
Safi Juice ended up securing a corporate account, and Rasheed dedicated himself full time to juice making.
“I’ve been a one man show the whole time. I juice it, make it, bottle it, label it, and sell it.”
There have been ups and downs throughout the journey, but earlier this year, Rasheed pushed forward on opening his brick-and-mortar location. Located on Penn Avenue in Garfield, he thinks his location – sandwiched between the Gluten Free Goat and a yoga studio – is the perfect place.
Customers can expect juices, smoothies, protein bites, granola, and lattes with (homemade) almond and coconut milk. Rasheed takes great care to ensure his products taste as good as they are for you.
The shop will eventually expand to have health shots and other unique items.
“When we think of health, we only think of a few things, but there is a whole world people don’t know about,” says Rasheed. “Why are we just thinking about kale, and why are we just thinking about spinach? We use these things, but we also want to introduce new things.”
Safi Juice is officially open, but the space is still testing out their permanent hours. At the time of print, they are open Thursday and Friday from 8:00 a.m.to 2:00 p.m., Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
“I don’t believe juices are meal replacements. They enhance the meal and are refreshing. Smoothies replace meals, but juices replace snacks. This may be a sandwich and beer city, but let’s throw some juice in there.”
Safi Juice (4919 Penn Avenue)
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