So my wife and I took a short trip out to Kent to check out Groove E juice last night. The shop is situated in an historic building in downtown Kent, and it's on the second floor, up some very narrow stairs. Upon entering the room, I was very happy. The ambiance was VERY nice, with a Beatles album (vinyl) playing and a self-serve juice bar waiting for me. The owner greeted me right away, and he seems like a really cool dude. My wife sat down in a comfortable chair and began crocheting. I reckon we were there for nearly 2 hours, and she was fine just sitting there crocheting - which was cool for me. I spent some time chatting with a customer who helped to guide me through the juices at the bar, and I tried probably 3/4 of their juices. Honestly, none of the juices totally wowed me, but many were quite good, though not my cup of tea. Nothing set itself apart as something that I absolutely had to buy, which was a bit disappointing, though, again, that's not to say that there weren't a number of good tasting juices - taste is subjective, as are cravings. Their "waffle" juices were pretty nice, but again, not my thing. I don't remember the name of it, but one of them stood out as particularly complex...it had kiwi in it, I think. Anyway, well-balanced and well thought out juices, overall, and I can easily imagine many of these juices selling quite well. Though I did not buy it, Stick-E Icky Cinnamon Bun was my favorite.
Something that totally impressed me, though, was that orders are placed by writing them down on a sticky note and giving it to the girl behind the counter who passes the order along to be made on the spot. The "lab" area really is just a desk or two behind the counter, and next to the "lab" are a few tables where some other folks were bagging up order for shipping. More or less, the whole operation happens before the customer's eyes, which is nice. It's not a "sterilized" lab type setup; it's more like it would be if I were DIY'ing at home - nice and cozy...clean, but homey. I took a sticky note up with a custom order:
Blackberry (strong)
Vanilla (hint)
Max VG
.6%
A wonderful female mixologist (grooveologist?) came over to discuss my order, suggesting that the blackberry might be a bit tart without some sort of sweetener, so we came up with something far more complex - Blackberry and Sweet Raspberry with some Graham Cracker and Vanilla Swirl, and a few drops of EM (cotton candy) and a hint of Butter. Actually, since she had come to talk to me about what I wanted, I handed her a tank with Alice in Vapeland's "Twas Brillig" and said that I wanted something in the ballpark. Anyway, 30ml with tax was $16 and a few cents, and I was quite happy with the vape. The owner and the mixologist both tried it on my Trident, and they put some notes in the computer for next time about maybe a bit more vanilla and maybe some more butter.
All in all, I am really impressed with Groove E Juice. The vibe is just awesome. This is how a vape shop should be, in my opinion. It was kinda like being in their home, with someone making custom juice, and people just chilling out and vaping...coming and going, low light, record player...the owner suggested that I look through the vinyl and pick something out, but I was totally cool with The Beatles. My general sense of their juice is that it's good stuff, but generally not my cup of tea - but that they made such a complex custom order for me and kept notes about it...well, that's awesome. I've been to other vape shops, but the customers at this one seemed different, most likely because of the vibe. People were just sharing stuff. One dude heard that I like Snickerdoodle juices, and he happened to have one tanked up, so he passed me his tank; another dude, when we were talking about Mt. Baker Vapor, said that he had been craving Ecto Cooler, which I happened to have. That dude bought a custom Vanilla juice, and he passed the fresh bottle to me to drip into my Trident. I shared my Boba's Bounty... Two hours later...lol. Oh, and this joint is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights!
Well, in closing, I'll be going back. They do not sell much hardware, really, but they do have Spinner kits for newbies and whatnot. They are not a high end gear shop; rather, their focus is their own juice and their groovy vibe, which totally fits nearby Kent State University. Great people, great atmosphere, solid juices...yeah, wow...and a place where I can take my non-vaping wife and she's totally cool sitting there for TWO HOURS just crocheting...yup...that's awesome.
Something that totally impressed me, though, was that orders are placed by writing them down on a sticky note and giving it to the girl behind the counter who passes the order along to be made on the spot. The "lab" area really is just a desk or two behind the counter, and next to the "lab" are a few tables where some other folks were bagging up order for shipping. More or less, the whole operation happens before the customer's eyes, which is nice. It's not a "sterilized" lab type setup; it's more like it would be if I were DIY'ing at home - nice and cozy...clean, but homey. I took a sticky note up with a custom order:
Blackberry (strong)
Vanilla (hint)
Max VG
.6%
A wonderful female mixologist (grooveologist?) came over to discuss my order, suggesting that the blackberry might be a bit tart without some sort of sweetener, so we came up with something far more complex - Blackberry and Sweet Raspberry with some Graham Cracker and Vanilla Swirl, and a few drops of EM (cotton candy) and a hint of Butter. Actually, since she had come to talk to me about what I wanted, I handed her a tank with Alice in Vapeland's "Twas Brillig" and said that I wanted something in the ballpark. Anyway, 30ml with tax was $16 and a few cents, and I was quite happy with the vape. The owner and the mixologist both tried it on my Trident, and they put some notes in the computer for next time about maybe a bit more vanilla and maybe some more butter.
All in all, I am really impressed with Groove E Juice. The vibe is just awesome. This is how a vape shop should be, in my opinion. It was kinda like being in their home, with someone making custom juice, and people just chilling out and vaping...coming and going, low light, record player...the owner suggested that I look through the vinyl and pick something out, but I was totally cool with The Beatles. My general sense of their juice is that it's good stuff, but generally not my cup of tea - but that they made such a complex custom order for me and kept notes about it...well, that's awesome. I've been to other vape shops, but the customers at this one seemed different, most likely because of the vibe. People were just sharing stuff. One dude heard that I like Snickerdoodle juices, and he happened to have one tanked up, so he passed me his tank; another dude, when we were talking about Mt. Baker Vapor, said that he had been craving Ecto Cooler, which I happened to have. That dude bought a custom Vanilla juice, and he passed the fresh bottle to me to drip into my Trident. I shared my Boba's Bounty... Two hours later...lol. Oh, and this joint is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights!
Well, in closing, I'll be going back. They do not sell much hardware, really, but they do have Spinner kits for newbies and whatnot. They are not a high end gear shop; rather, their focus is their own juice and their groovy vibe, which totally fits nearby Kent State University. Great people, great atmosphere, solid juices...yeah, wow...and a place where I can take my non-vaping wife and she's totally cool sitting there for TWO HOURS just crocheting...yup...that's awesome.
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