Smoothie King opened its newest store in Tuscaloosa, across the street from Jimmy John’s on The Strip, Aug. 18.

“It fits in with the atmosphere, and the college kids really like it,” said Ryan Holland, manager of the new Smoothie King.

Entering into competition with the other Smoothie Kings, located on 15th street and in the Student Recreational Center, Holland said he hopes to sell an average of 100-150 smoothies per day, which would be similar to the sales at the other locations.

“We’ve had so many people come in that had no idea we were here and that have never been to any Smoothie King,” he said. “Our numbers have been the same [at the other locations] while still adding on over here.”

Smoothie King has been in the process of moving into a location on The Strip for almost 10 years, and they broke ground on the new storefront in February.

“In the 10 years we’ve been here, we’ve had lots of folks ask us about [moving onto The Strip],” store owner Lee Henderson said. “We felt like we were still missing a niche in our student market. We get them at our Student Recreational Center store, and we get them at our 15th Street store, but with student growth, with the mass numbers that are here, we felt like The Strip was a good location.”

With the location being closer to downtown Tuscaloosa, Henderson and Holland said they hope to reach out to a new demographic in addition to the student population.

Several students said they’re excited about having a smoothie store near campus.

“Ever since that smoothie place in the Ferguson Center closed, I’ve been lacking smoothies, so I’m pretty pumped,” said Jordan Regan, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering.

Another student said visiting the Smoothie King on The Strip was her first Smoothie King experience.

“I had Smoothie King for the first time today, and I enjoyed it a lot,” said Andie Alexander, a sophomore majoring in history.

Holland said they’re marking downtown as well.

“There are just so many things downtown, too,” he said. “There’s the business aspect of Tuscaloosa as opposed to the student aspect.”

In addition to doing more marketing in the downtown area, Henderson said they are also trying to expand their customer base to include residents near The Strip, in addition to the students who live on and around campus.

“We’ve had a good response from the downtown quarter,” he said. “Folks that live in the historic districts have been coming to the store. I’ve known several of them personally that have come in, saying they want us to be in this market because they like to do business closer to their homes.”

***Pull-out Chart***

Store Hours

Monday-Friday: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.