Sharon Vanorny
TJ DiCiaula (left) and P.T. Bjerke, owners of SuperCharge! Foods, in their new juice bar, Community Juice.
P.T. Bjerke and TJ DiCiaula, owners of SuperCharge! Foods, are part of a green revolution. A microgreen revolution, to be exact.
These two thirty-somethings have been growing microgreens in the attic of Bjerke’s Dayton Street home since 2009 and selling them to an increasing number of grocery stores and Madison-area restaurants.
This summer, the business is doing some major growing of its own. Bjerke and DiCiaula are opening a new juice bar to be called Community Juice at the corner of North First Street and East Washington Avenue, in the former home of Catclimberz and Tranquil Tattoo. The microgreen operation will also move to the site.
SuperCharge! Foods focuses on growing three types of microgreens: pea shoots, sunflower microgreens and wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is consumed as a juice, while the others are eaten raw and added to just about anything, from sandwiches to pizza. Wheatgrass juice will be available at the new bar, along with other juices.
Microgreens are sometimes confused with sprouts, but they are not the same thing. DiCiaula explains that microgreens are the stage of development when the sprout turns into a root and grows a stem and leaf set. "Microgreens are able to absorb a vast amount of trace minerals, providing the consumer with a higher amount of nutrition and nutrient density.”
Bjerke suggests adding microgreens as a side "or incorporate them into meals you regularly eat and you will be amazed at the results...the more you eat, the better you feel.”
SuperCharge! Foods’ microgreens appear on the menus of quite a few Madison restaurants, including A Pig in a Fur Coat, Salvatore's Tomato Pies and L’Etoile. Willy Street Co-op and Jenifer Street Market also carry the product.
The partners have been eyeing the East Washington space for a few years. “East Madison is home to a diverse range of incomes and ethnic backgrounds,” says Bjerke, “but we need more welcoming community spaces where we can communicate with one another.”
The new location has been thoughtfully transformed using bamboo flooring and reclaimed barn wood for a homey, peaceful feel. The microgreen growing room has a quartz floor — for its grounding properties, the owners explain — and windows, too, so that juice bar customers can see the ingredients. The new facility will allow for almost eight times more production than the current one.
The owners want the new space to be more than just a juice bar; they want it to be a healthy place for the community to gather. A community room will be available for meetings and yoga, and they hope to make the commercial kitchen available for community use as well. Another room will be will available for massage therapy.
Bjerke and DiCiaula are planning for SuperCharge! Foods’ soft opening sometime in June, with a grand opening scheduled for mid-July.
