Retail: Humdinger Juice opens retail shop at its production facility

To find opportunity, sometimes you just have to look to your customers.

Over the course of its three years, Humdinger Juice has had a steady stream of people visit its production facility in search of the company’s bottles of cold-pressed juices.

Those beverages, however, were only available through its home and office delivery service, its website or at retail locations around the Triangle.

So the brother and sister co-owners of Humdinger, Mary Holt Collins and former One Tree Hill actor Colin Fickes, decided to convert the front of their production space, which had served as an office and break room, into a retail shop – called The Humdinger Hub – where customers can walk in and buy their products.

“It naturally happened,” Collins said. “People would come in and ask if we had juice.”

Humdinger sells five types of juices: charge with apple, lemon and ginger; balance, their top-seller, with a green juice with kale, romaine lettuce, apple, spinach, cucumber, parsley, lemon and ginger; glow, which has pineapple, apple, mint and lime; lift with carrots, beets, apple, lemon and ginger; and calm, made from raw cashews, maple syrup, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

All juices are handmade, bottled and labeled in the production facility, and are made with organic and fresh fruits and vegetables. The juices have a shelf life of five days.

The company makes about 200 to 300 bottles a day, Collins said.

Bottles come in two sizes, 8-ounces, which is $6, and 16-ounces, which is $9.

The Hub is not a juice bar, Collins said. Everything is pre-made and bottled, but customers can still sample products before they buy them.

“We will always pull open a bottle and get out tasting cups,” Collins said.

The 800-square-foot Humdinger Hub has a lounge with a loveseat, tables and chairs for those who want to drink their juice in the store. The Hub also sells Humdinger merchandise, including coolers and baseball caps embellished with the company logo of a bird whose wing is in the shape of the state of North Carolina. The store also hopes to start selling T-shirts this summer.

The Humdinger Hub is at 5024-H Departure Drive in North Raleigh.

Southern Tex-Mex restaurant Cantina 18 is closing Sunday for renovations.

The changes include a second floor dining room and bar and outdoor seating.

The eatery is part of chef Jason Smith’s 18 Restaurant Group, and serves dishes such as quesadillas, short rib nachos, burritos, tacos and margaritas.

It’s expected to reopen this fall at 433 Daniels Street in Raleigh’s Cameron Village shopping center.

Ambiente Modern Furniture is moving from North Raleigh to a 40,000-square-foot space near N.C. State University and Meredith College.

The gallery, which has been in the Triangle since 1984, sells contemporary home furnishings and decor such as artwork, desks, lamps, and bedroom, dining and living room pieces. The new store will have all new inventory, and many of the new lines are from Italy.

Ambiente will have its soft opening in mid July at 3915 Beryl Road.

Taverna Agora Greek Restaurant & Bar has made its move from Glenwood Avenue to a spot on the downtown Raleigh end of Hillsborough Street.

The restaurant serves lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, and has a menu that includes small plates such as spicy feta spread, lemon chicken soup and steamed mussels, along with dishes like lamb burgers, stuffed peppers, moussaka, Greek pie, Spanakopita Benedict and baklava pancakes.

Prices range from about $4.95 for appetizers to about $24.95 for dinner entrees.

Taverna Agora is at 326 Hillsborough St., between the Holiday Inn and Second Empire.

This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Retail: Humdinger Juice opens retail shop at its production facility."