DeKALB – Smoothie King has officially opened its doors to the public, hoping to serve the DeKalb community a healthy snack in a cup.

Located at 1015 W. Lincoln Highway, between Baba’s Steak and Lemonade and Starbucks, Smoothie King opened Monday. Smoothie King specializes in a variety of different smoothies.

Niki Martinez, the franchise business consultant, shared insight into Smoothie King’s mission. 

“Our missions and vision that we have, which inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle. So it’s for wherever you are on that health and fitness journey, maybe just starting off, maybe looking for protein, maybe looking for something to enhance where you’re at,” Martinez said.

As soon as customers step into Smoothie King they are greeted by staff. The establishment is clean and bright. There is glass around the whole counter and customers can watch as staff make smoothies, and can look at the ingredients stored right in front. 

The menu is organized by category, depending if customers are looking for a protein-packed smoothie, a sweet treat, a green smoothie and many other options. Their prices range from $6 to $15, as they have a customizable option available.

Yogesh Patel, the owner of Smoothie King, explained why he decided to open a Smoothie King in DeKalb.

“We know it is a growing area, and obviously with NIU being here, that’s great. What we’re trying to do is have like, healthier smoothies, right? And this reaches a lot of the students at the college, the younger kids that are getting into healthier habits,” Patel said. “So that was one of our main aspects when opening near here, give them an option to have a different variety (of smoothies).”

Patel owns different Smoothie King locations in Illinois and explained why he started this specific franchise. 

“We have other brands too, like Wingstop, but we’ve never had a concept with healthier versions of smoothies, something that focuses on the future too, present too, because now, a lot of days now, everyone is looking for healthier options right? So working out, I would say ten to fifteen years ago, was not a big thing, but now everyone is into it. So that was our main focus,” Patel said. “Also opening something that people would enjoy, and not just like one person. It could also be a sweet treat. We have everything for everybody. If you’re into workouts, we have a category for workout. If you’re recovering from a surgery, we have options that are called recovery. So it will help you recover from working out or surgery, anything like that.”

Martinez highlighted the importance of Smoothie King’s drinks to the community.

“We have a smoothie there called the Daily Warrior. Daily Warrior was started by a guest a long time ago that was going through cancer treatments, and so it’s loaded with vegetables and peanut butter and it’s a higher calorie smoothie, but for someone going through chemotherapy, they need that right?” Martinez said.

Patel shared some of the most popular smoothies.

“Angel Food is one of our most popular ones. Everyone likes strawberry and banana, then another popular one is the Peanut Power, that one if you love peanut butter like that’s the most popular,” Patel said.

Although fully staffed, Smoothie King is still open to hiring more people.

“We have our staff for now, but we might still be hiring,” Patel said.

Andy Milasukas, a DeKalb resident, shared their thoughts on Smoothie King’s opening.

“I think it’s kind of neat. It’s nice to have, like, a nice smoothie place. There aren’t too many places in DeKalb to like, go to. I moved down here, like two years ago, and I’m just like, where is all the stuff to do? So, it’s nice to know that there’s at least one other place that I can visit,” Milasukas said.

Smoothie King is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.