By Augusta Statz
Situated on Bull Street in downtown Savannah, smooth offers smoothies, sandwiches, snacks and a relaxed, comfortable place to eat. According to Savannah native and owner, Susan Jaffie, it’s the customers that make this local business so special.
“We definitely have unique customers. We have a big variety of students, girl scouts, tourists, business people and locals,” Jaffie said.
It’s not just the customers that make smooth unique, though.
“We really do thrive on freshness,” Jaffie said. “All of our smoothies are all-natural:no dairy, no corn syrup. It’s just fruit and ice. We don’t add crazy things to make them sweeter,” she said.
This local business got its start a little over four years ago. And to think, it all started with a little yellow trolley. The Yellow Trolley is also owned by Jaffie and has been up and running for seven years now. It is a little stand that is shaped like a trolley and sells lemonade, shaved ice, boiled peanuts and hot dogs. The Yellow Trolley can be found just outside of Wright Square on the corner of Bull and York streets.
After working from the Yellow Trolley for three years, Jaffie noticed a vacancy on Bull street.
“I walked past here, and there was a business for sale. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to migrate into the air conditioning,” said Jaffie.
So, Jaffie expanded her business from selling only a few items in the Savannah heat to selling smoothies, sandwiches, pretzels and other snacks in an air-conditioned shop not far from the trolley at 143 Bull Street.
The café offers 15 different flavors of fruit smoothies, and if one of those flavors don’t suit you, try the “DIY” where you can choose up to three fruits to make a smoothie that’s all your own. The smoothies are vegan and are a great way to cool down on one of Savannah’s hot summer days.
When it comes to eats, there are also vegan and vegetarian options at smooth. All of the salads are served with or without meat depending on the customer’s preference. There are also sandwiches that don’t have to be served with meat, or don’t have meat at all such as the peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich. Even the pretzels are vegan if they aren’t served with butter.
Yet another thing that makes smooth unique is the fact that Jaffie does most of the shopping for vegetables and produce herself.
“I’m picking them out and making sure that it’s the best quality,” she said.
This local business also supports local artists. Most of the artwork is provided by SCAD students. They sell jewelry, photographs and paintings. Jaffie says that she finds artists just by talking to customers or putting a call for artwork out on Facebook, but there is also a form that can be filled out on smooth’s website. Once the form is filled out, feel free to stop in and show the people at smooth your artwork, and they will sell it in the store.
The café offers indoor dining at tables, as well as a couch area. Outdoor dining is available as well. There are computers available for customer use, and even a printer is available for a minimal charge. It’s a place to come to visit with friends or to do work, which is exactly what Jaffie was going for.
She described smooth’s atmosphere as laid back.
“I want to keep it collegiate and comfortable for kids to come in and sit on their laptop or even for business people to be able to sit down and conduct a small business meeting. But comfort is important. I want it to be like sitting in your own living room.”
So, stop by smooth sometime and support a local business that supports local artists. Pick up a smoothie card while you’re there. If you buy nine smoothies, you get the tenth for free.