Blueberry Cafe Juice Bar And Vegan Grille — Restaurant in Newark

On 12/17 (which happened to be my birthday) my family and I traveled from Exton, PA, to visit your places of business. Again I want to congratulate you on all of your accomplishments. We need more spaces where black people can support each other.

Sadly, my family and I did not have a positive experience at either of your 3 establishments which were disappointing for the following reasons:

We traveled 4 hours to support your business. Upon entering all three of your spaces we were not greeted as customers by any of your staff, including you. Because we were not greeted it felt as if our presence was bothersome. When we entered Blueberry Vegan Cafe, the staff there saw us enter the building, looked up at us, looked away, and proceeded to continue their conversation (amongst each other and on their phones). There was no welcoming acknowledgement of us, as customers. Not to mention, profanity was being used, in front of my young child, which was very unprofessional. We were informed at 4:20ish by you and your staff that “we are closing” which was unwelcoming considering on our way there we called in advance to confirm what time you closed, and were told by your staff that you closed at 6. Most of your items were sold out. We were told at the Zucchini Bar that they had “1 Joe burger, 1 mushroom gyro and 1 loaded nachos.”

Despite you and your staff’s unprofessional behavior we were still willing to support your business. Unfortunately we chose not to because of the interior condition of the buildings.

In Blueberry Vegan Cafe the ceiling was leaking a yellowish substance, the walls had buildup, the kitchen equipment and bathroom was unclean and the staff appeared to be unsanitary in appearance.

As a last resort, we decided to go into AquaPhit and upon reaching the food area we noticed half eaten food on the counter of the cold bar. As we were leaving AquaPhit there was a traffic jam of children and adults at the door preventing us from leaving. After saying excuse me multiple times, we were finally able to exit the premises.

Based on our negative experiences at all 3 establishments we decided not to purchase any prepared food items. To witness all of this was disheartening because we truly wanted to be supportive of your business.

Driving back home, we researched the Google reviews for your business and noticed a common theme with complaints. Multiple reviews throughout the past years had similar complaints and experiences as we did.

I asked my 7 year old if he could leave a review for the places we visited what would he say, he stated, “the places were dirty, do not eat there.”

My intention for you is that you will be able to continue to grow as a black entrepreneur in a professional, sanitary and welcoming...

Taste is amazing! 5 Effin stars! The taste is always consistent! And everything’s organic and alkaline! Blk owned u Cnt ask for more! The food is so good idc if the staff cussed me out every day or was rude to me I’d still go with a smile on my face just for the food! On top of that I love the vibe in there! From the staff and customers! To address one of the negative comments below about the staff not greeting them ….. I’m sorry that happened me personally idc if they speak or not the food is so dam good lol but u did come at the end of the night where yes because the food is good they always sell out. I understood u even called in advanced b4 u made the drive from pa to make sure u guys would be good and I wished they attached a little more importance to ur phone call and both presence when u entered! Sometimes we get busy n life n have a day we’re over worked tired or zoned out! Plus I’m sure when you walked in they did not know you were the ones that called and drive in from pa. I want u to have the same experiences I had there! Sheeno is a great woman! On her free time she’s always doing charity work! Always trying to help the community and or anyone that needs it! Sometimes I go there and c that she fell asleep in her car she’s so over worked! Sheen0! Pls try and reach out to them so they can have a better experience! Schedule a day with them that they can come earlier and there food on the house to compensate the first negative exp and the long drive for coming back 🙏. Show them what the hype is about and y we all love this place! The restaurant business is a brutal business. One time the food dosent come out right people never want to go back or if they have a negative exp. It can be hard to knock the ball out the park on every swing but I hope u guys from pa come back and let blueberry have another swing! ...

So glad to have made it here!! Vegan is one thing...alkaline vegan options is a hard find!! Had an event in NJ so we decided to stop here afterwards. Staff was friendly...we came close to closing time & managed by sheer minutes to snag the last two BBQ wild rice platters (my friend inhaled his lol & went in for another but it was sold out). Also ordered smoothies & drinks: strawberry breeze smoothie, coconut mango smoothie, Sorrell (not overly sweetened), and an orange looking drink my friend had that I'm blanking on the name right now. The platter was yummy: mushrooms were crispy (almost like general tso's) and the bbq sauce was on point (I have not tasted a better alkaline bbq sauce), when a spot gives me wild rice and not a wild rice blend I know they love me haha , chickpeas weren't overly seasoned & the salad was a refreshing balance. Smoothie WAS YUM!! We also went next door to Zucchini Bar (their sister store) for a few desserts: a few slices of the apple caramel "cheesecake", and the bean pie. Everything was great, especially the bean pie which reminded me of a delicious sweet potato pie! Worth the money (quality ingredients like wild rice/walnuts/speciality ancient grain flours aren't cheap), though would be an occasional treat for me as it could quickly get out of hand haha. Loved it! Also worth noting, Blueberry Cafe is more alkaline (Dr. Sebi food recs) based while zucchini bar tends to have ingredients that fall in line with vegan lifestyle but aren't necessarily alkaline. Still amazing. Plus, for outdoor seating.

Went back on a sunday 8/2022 and had the nacho plate and seamoss bean...