Juice Bars & Smoothies

FACEBOOK PHOTO Roxie’s on the Bagnell Dam Strip is a Redhead property off of the Lake.

The 21-mile marker has always been a popular spot for boaters. Now a conglomerate of waterfront restaurants, pools and a marina draws visitors to an area that has just about everything for a day on the Lake. Brightly colored houses make it easy to spot the Redhead compound from the water. These seven vacation rentals are a part of the property, too. Performance Boat Center and Redhead Lakeside Grill is a place where performance boat fans, quality food and entertainment comes together in one location. And it seems that there’s always something changing with each season.

In 2015, Redhead Lakeside Grill opened offering a family-friendly restaurant with two levels of dining, and two pools (one for adults and one for children). It consistently is known to have some of the best food on the water, thanks to popular and well-known chef Pierre Torres. It joined several buildings already on the property that includes a showroom of performance boats, a service department, gas dock and storage.

In 2020, a lot of empty property behind and up the hill from Redhead became an outdoor-only venue with a 3,000 square foot pool. The idea was to do something that wouldn’t compete with Redhead, but would be a good addition to the Lake and tourists. It was decided to do an adult-only venue that creates a pool party atmosphere during the day and hosts different concerts and events in the evenings. The V-shaped pool has three pool bars, one on each end of the V, and a main bar at the point of the V. Above the bar is a covered stage where a DJ/MC can be found every day during the summer and where artists perform. Any spot has a great view of the performers, and since the pool is surrounded by trees, there is a sense of privacy that not all waterfront venues have. You can take a 5-minute walk to High Tide from Redhead or take advantage of the trams and golf carts that will do the work for you.

The food is casual but elevated. Chef Torres designs all the menus on property making sure what goes out of the kitchen is top quality. It’s food everyone likes to eat when they are drinking — burgers, tacos and appetizers. The tacos are a favorite that includes queso fresco, marinated chicken, pico and fresh guacamole. Different drink specials are offered with each event throughout the summer.

New this year are VIP cabanas with bottle service and private servers that can be reserved during the day or for High Tide Night Swims.

On Saturday nights, Night Swims are held throughout the summer. Come dressed up or casual to enjoy the entertainment on stage. If you are wearing your swimsuit, get a front row seat in the pool.

During the winter, the venue erects igloos where guests can stay warm and comfortable with a few of their friends. From November through February the igloos offer a fun winter menu and speciality cocktails. Each igloo is private and fits around eight people. When reserved, the group has the igloo for the evening.

Other properties owned and operated by the team at Redhead include Roxie’s Roadhouse on the Bagnell Dam Strip. This small bar and grill serves great food during the day and is known for night life on the weekends. At the 3-mile marker of the Main Channel is The Cave Bar & Grill. Plans are to open this summer featuring a family-friendly atmosphere with a “massive” adult pool and smaller toddler pool. As the name would suggest, the pool will extend into one of the caves on property and is promising to be a unique addition to the west side of the Lake.

THE SUPERPOWER OF Smoothies

LOCAL SPOTS OFFER HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES

Story by CONNYE GRIFFIN

Raise a glass for health, but fill it with fruits and vegetables swirled into a delicious smoothie. You’ll do your body a favor.

Three local businesses serve these filling, nutritious drinks. They are SQeZ Juice on the Osage Beach Parkway, V-Town Smoothies near the courthouse square in Versailles, and Sip Coffee House on Highway 54 in Camdenton. These three specialize in smoothies made from fresh and freshly frozen fruits and vegetables.

Why you should choose smoothies

Smoothies provide natural vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for heart and digestive health. A smoothie also supplies health-conscious folk with some of the three to five servings of fruit and vegetables recommended daily. Those servings support a healthy weight as well as fight inflammation and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

According to SQeZ’s owner, Wrendy Marcinik, D.C., smoothies provide the “wholistic power of … produce.” When fresh, they deliver live food full of the vitamins and minerals our body needs plus enzymes to break them down so our bodies can make good use of them, she explained.

Melissa “Mel” Buehler, V-Town Smoothies’ owner, agrees. At V-Town, smoothies are made with fresh products washed, sliced, frozen, and bagged with Mel’s own hands to insure they are free of preservatives and additives. Any additional ingredients, including plant-based protein, are also organic, natural, and often locally sourced. Some of those anti-inflammatory, antioxidant ingredients are honey, collagen, chia seeds, flaxseed, turmeric, steel cut oats, and spinach.

As a bodybuilder and competitor with the Team Mid MO Muscle, Buehler knows the value of healthy foods. A “smoothie fits very well in [her] daily routine,” she says, because it provides a “good dose of … greens and protein.” Any V-Town smoothie can be boosted with protein using a whey or a soy product. SQeZ offers a protein boost, too.

Flaxseed, spirulina, nuts and nut butters as well as nonfat, plain yogurt can add to a smoothie’s protein power. However, a good diet consists of twice as many fruit and vegetable servings as protein. Smoothies are a great choice in meeting that daily, dietary need.

Smoothies made at Sip Coffee House also begin with real, raw ingredients, including local ones in season, because they deliver the most nutrition, according to owner Heather Jackson. In fact, that is one mission for Sip Coffee House: real food for good health made and served quickly. Partner Aaron Logan, most often behind the counter at Sip, and Jackson list nine different smoothies, most created by Jackson herself.

Food for thought

After four years in business, SQez Juice has moved to a new location. There, Dr. Wrendy will continue to offer chiropractic care. Sara Winters, a massage therapist, will continue to offer her services as well. She has been affiliated with SQeZ since the earliest days, but she can also be found at the food and beverage counter serving plant-based drinks, smoothies, and bowls. In the new location, customers will also be able to order a breakfast or lunch from a plant-based menu that includes gluten-free options.

Dr. Wrendy chose juicing and plantbased foods while preparing for her chiropractic career. She continues to make those choices because she feels better and thinks more clearly. She is not exclusively a vegetarian or vegan, but reports that a ketogenic diet rich in fruits and vegeta-

Sara Winters provides massage therapy and good health at SQeZ.

bles is good for her. SQeZ is an extension of what she lives and believes in.

Dr. Wrendy creates the menu and names each item to evoke “a feeling and an intention.” According to her, “words have power, and [she] wanted to use the power [of words] to inspire.” On the menu, SQeZ fans will find Be Well, a juice blend of garlic, jalapeño, ginger, cucumber, greens, and pineapple providing anti-inflammatory and hydrating properties with a spicy kick.

V-Town celebrated its three-year anniversary on June 1, 2022. Customers count on satisfying, tasty smoothies, of course, but rely on weekly specials, too. These include a creamy, savory butternut squash soup, buddha bowls, salads, and even slow-roasted smoked brisket. Mindful of the many dietary needs in her community, V-Town offers gluten-free and vegan options, too.

Flavor is as important at V-Town as health. Buehler suggests that without good flavor matches in ingredients, people might hesitate before trying another healthy smoothie or nutritious soup. With no fewer than 19 different smoothies on the V-Town menu, her business offers flavors and combinations to suit all. The Green Monster smoothie, for example, is light as summer, thanks to cucumber, and creamy as an ice cream shake, thanks to avocados full of the right kind of fats. It also includes apple for a touch of sweetness and spinach to deepen the green of the avocado while adding vitamins.

Sip Coffee House is a dine-in and drive-through restaurant on 54 in Camdenton, specializing in coffees. However, diners can also order breakfast and sandwiches or salads for lunch. Jackson says the menu begins with what she enjoys, but customers can request their own favorite. If Sip has those items on hand, staff will oblige. That’s one way the Chunky Monkey made its way onto the Sip smoothie menu. High school students on their way to and from school asked for a blend of banana, peanut butter, and chocolate. Others may prefer the Green Tea Detox made with hydrating cucumber swirled with green tea, spinach, mango, pineapple, and honey. It’s a tasty blend.

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1 Crayon colors and bistro tables add a bright and cozy atmosphere at SQeZ. 2 A delicious lunch option from V-Town Smoothies. 3 Heart-healthy breakfast options at SQeZ include this oatmeal with fresh fruits. 4 The Green Monster made and served by V-Town Smoothies owner Mel Buehler. 5 Barista Tyler Massey serving the high school favorite, a Chunky Monkey smoothie.