Meet Charles McClendon III of Pure Green Arcadia Juice, and Smoothie Bar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles McClendon III.

Hi Charles, we’re so excited to have you on the platform. Before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I decided I needed a new opportunity to move out of Chicago. I had enough experience to finally challenge myself with opening a business. Health and wellness has always been a passion of mine. So, I centered my business around a juice and organic smoothie bar. My previous background was in real estate, as a landlord, youth mentoring, and working at a railroad in management. Saving for a year at age 21 gave me a down payment for a multi-family unit property. The sale of that property 10 years later funded my moving to Arizona with my son as a single father to open my own business here. Having a passion for Health & Wellness was the key founding reason for my business; the work is meaningful to me & I look forward to growing the business each & every day.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
At this point, I’m now eight months into being an entrepreneur. One of the biggest challenges in owning a business is finding reliable help, distribution, effective marketing, and balancing your personal life. Being new to owning a restaurant, introducing the concept, menu, and overall business to a community that has never experienced it before was quite challenging. My best advice is to throw everything at the wall, whatever sticks you continue with.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Pure Green Arcadia Juice and Smoothie Bar?
Our Storefront offers healthy organic superfood items, such as açai bowls, smoothies, cold-pressed juice, wellness shots, toast, and oatmeal. We specialize in providing one to three-day juice cleanses for our guests. Our products separate us from other juice bars; we do not use ice or water in our smoothies because that dilutes the product. Our cold-pressed method sustains a great shelf life for our juices to be packaged and juice cleanses without losing their nutritious values over time. I am most proud of our stores and their impact on the community by introducing superfoods to our guests. I want readers to know we have a beautiful store aesthetic and a warm and friendly staff awaiting your arrival to craft an exceptional experience for you and your taste buds.

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned to this date is that, in all honesty, entrepreneurship is not for everybody. It takes a strong-willed mind and a can-do type attitude every day. Your presence will be the driving force in the success of your business. I was cut out for entrepreneurship simply by my day-to-day ability to adapt and adjust on the fly. Leadership qualities will need to be on constant display for staff, networking, and providing confidence for customers to buy into your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.puregreenarcadia.com
• Instagram: @PureGreenArcadia
• Facebook: @PureGreenArcadia