This fall, Smoothie King will be making its way back onto the campus dining scene with the opening of its newest location on the second level of the Student Union.
Although the location’s opening day has yet to be determined, it will be the week of Aug. 17, before school starts, said Smoothie King marketing and communications manager Katherine LeBlanc.
The space that was formerly occupied by Jamba Juice will now be renovated to include customized Smoothie King finishes and feature a new floorplan that only one other Smoothie King location in Baton Rouge has, said franchise owner Sean Cangelosi.
“It’s going to be a complete overhaul,” Cangelosi said. “They’ve got some fancy designs, so it will look nice.”
According to a poll published by The Daily Reveille, 63 percent of the 102 students surveyed were happy about Smoothie King taking the place of Jamba Juice.
“The LSU students made a push for it,” Cangelosi said. “They saw how well we did at the UREC.”
Chartwells, a company that provides campus dining services to the University, approached the franchise with the idea of expanding to the Student Union. The two entities already had a previous seven-year relationship through the UREC Smoothie King location, Cangelosi said.
“I’ve been interested in the food court for a long time,” Cangelosi said. “It was a no-brainer taking the space.”
Unlike the UREC Smoothie King location, the Student Union location will offer a full menu of smoothies, brand name snacks, protein bars and more.
The new location also plans on staying open as long as the Union will allow, which means it could possibly be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and offer late-night snacks to students in the area, Cangelosi said.
Approximately 18-20 employees, mainly college students, will be hired by the location, Cangelosi said.
“We’re hiring as we speak but don’t have a set number on how many [employees] we need,” said Student Union Smoothie King manager Jason Juame. “It’s really just going to depend on how busy it is.”
Cangelosi said the UREC Smoothie King will continue to remain after the facility’s renovation project is complete.
“That’s a big renovation so it’ll be a while, but we’ll be back,” Cangelosi said.
Smoothie King’s new Student Union location to open in August
July 22, 2015