BY JENNA BAGCAL

The businesses and buildings on Hobart Avenue are a sea of monochrome brick and awnings that would not capture the attention of passersby. But in this collection of lackluster storefronts, Laundromats and exercise studios is Juice Me, whose facade alone is a colorful and vivid departure from the oasis of drab stores lining the sidewalk.

At the end of 2012, Bernice Marsical, the owner and brains behind Juice Me, established her small business in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. Diagnosed with lupus, a collection of autoimmune diseases that targets various organs in the body, Mariscal opened her store, both as a way to pay her medical bills and as a holistic approach to her own health and well-being.

“When I was released from the hospital, they [doctors] sent me home on about 14 pills a day. I was tired of taking all the medications, and every medicine had a different reaction on another part of my body,” Mariscal said.

Following her diagnosis, Mariscal began doing research on juicing as a healthier alternative to the medications that she was given for her condition. “Your body reacts to what you put into your body, so I decided to stop my medication. I started juicing, and I started doing wheatgrass, and I started taking a more natural approach to my health.”

Mariscal’s “natural approach” changed her health for the better, and she was able to reduce her pill intake from 14 pills a day to one pill a day, a change that she accredits to the health benefits that juicing provides. Following her discovery, Mariscal made it her mission to spread her message of juicing to the Pelham Bay community. So she opened Juice Me on Hobart Avenue across the street from the Planet Fitness, in hopes that people in the neighborhood would take healthy living more seriously. Her main clientele are members of the gym and people who attend the Zumba class next door at the New York City GoJu Ryu Karate school. On average, Marsical says she serves about 30 people a day, six days a week.

When you step inside this healthy locale, a barrage of colors immediately greets you from every angle: from the circular, orange, cushion-like adornments hanging on either side of the wall, to the funky matching couches next to silver tables and stools lining the glass window, the atmosphere of Juice Me creates an aura warmth and welcome to its customers. To the right of the doorway are newspaper clippings with articles written about local business and a poem that neighborhood children have addressed to “Ms. Bernice.” Juice Me is unique to other “health food stores” in that the combination of vivid colors, fresh food and drink selections and a friendly staff radiates throughout the store.

Teresa Imperati, a long time customer of Juice Me, says that from the moment she walked into the store, she immediately felt at home. “Everyone who works in the store works really well together,” she says, “It shows in the way that they interact with customers by starting conversations with us. It’s a really friendly vibe.” This “friendly vibe” is what Mariscal strives for throughout her daily interactions with customers, making suggestions to customers about what products are beneficial for their specific needs and training her staff to do the same.

But owning a small business has proved to be difficult at times for Mariscal. One of the main conflicts is the ongoing construction on the Buhre Avenue line of the 6 Train, which started in July of 2014 and will last until February of this upcoming year. This long-term train renovation has resulted in a substantial loss of customers for Mariscal.

“With the train being shut down, we’ve taken a big hit in business, a very big hit. We lost our breakfast crowd and we lost our dinner crowd,” says Mariscal. “When there’s work being done in your neighborhood, you’re the last person to be considered.”

Yet despite this setback, Mariscal still has big plans for the future of Juice Me, with the hopes of becoming a franchise and increasing the social media presence of her business. She also has a piece of advice for other small business owners who are trying to run their businesses. “You can’t depend on other people to run your business for you because it just doesn’t work like that. You have to always be at your business, you have to oversee it, you have to take pride in what you do.”