Wellness devotee Ross Franklin envisioned the model when he founded his fast-growing Pure Green brand in 2014 in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now the Carpenters\u2019 line-up of delicious,\u00a0nutrient-packed aca\u00ed bowls,\u00a0cold-pressed juice creations and handcrafted smoothies\u00a0is finding an even wider audience. Kosher Michigan founder-director Rabbi Jason Miller announced recently that the Pure Green store in Birmingham is kosher-certified.<\/p>\n
Ashton Carpenter reached out to Rabbi Miller on the Kosher Michigan website after hosting a successful event for Jewish Federation\u2019s NEXTGen Detroit. She and Kelly Carpenter, both Christian, were inspired by the group\u2019s recommendation to talk to Miller about providing Metro Detroit with a kosher experience at their Pure Green franchise in Birmingham.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Inside Pure Green Birmingham<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed like a natural direction for Pure Green\u2019s mission, to build healthier communities through the use of clean ingredients, superfoods and being designated kosher,\u201d Ashton said.\u00a0She felt confident of \u201cthe health (that) kosher foods offer for those who follow kosher guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI researched other kosher-certified Pure Green franchises, then met with Ashton in person for a full walk-through of the store,\u201d Miller said. \u201cAfter reviewing every ingredient and process, we were able to complete certification in less than a month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashton said Miller returned to \u201cintroduce himself to the\u00a0Birmingham\u00a0Pure Green team, trained them, answered their questions and gave us the kosher certificate for our store.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPure Green represents the kind of brand we\u2019re proud to certify,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe commitment to fresh, high-quality, health-conscious ingredients aligns perfectly with the values of kashrut [Jewish dietary laws]. We\u2019re thrilled to welcome them into the Kosher Michigan family as the only kosher-certified restaurant in downtown Birmingham.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecoming kosher certified has been a meaningful and educational experience for our whole team,\u201d Ashton added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The path for Ashton and Kelly to co-own a Pure Green franchise started with Paige Carpenter, Kelly and Brian Carpenter\u2019s young adult daughter. Paige has a sugar sensitivity but didn\u2019t get an upset stomach after drinking a smoothie in 2023 from a Pure Green store in Sterling Heights.<\/p>\n
Later that year, her mother visited a Pure Green in Macomb Township. \u201cI loved the menu, mission and business model,\u201d said Kelly, who developed her interest in adopting healthy habits from her brother\u2019s example.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Ashton learned of her delight about Pure Green, the women decided to become franchise owners through their new partnership, Innate Investment.\u00a0\u201cThe intent is to expand via diverse, lucrative investments that align with our values,\u201d Kelly said. Innate\u00a0Investment has plans to open another Pure Green store in Ann Arbor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The women initially wanted to operate their franchise\u00a0in a former ice cream and candy store in Livonia. The location was next door to the chiropractic clinic that Ashton co-owns with her husband, Dr. Mitchell Carpenter. However, company founder Franklin told the partners that from his experience, \u201cPure Green does better in a walking district, like Birmingham,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWe agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The space they chose on Pierce Street near East Maple Road was \u201cvacant but built out to be another smoothie and juice franchise,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt offered us a great opportunity to be a part of the Birmingham community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both women are busy but coordinate to ensure one of them is at their Pure Green store daily. Ashton\u2019s schedule is fluid in response to managing the marketing efforts\/calendar at Pure Green Birmingham and running the chiropractic clinic\u2019s day-to-day operations and marketing plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAshton often pops in at Pure Green during daytime hours weekdays for marketing content and meetings between shifts at the chiropractic clinic,\u201d Kelly said. Ashton, skilled in establishing partnerships, also handles events and collaborations for the store most weekends.<\/p>\n
Kelly and her husband, Brian Carpenter, co-own an energy management company in Mount Clemens. Her experience is in sales, account management, hospitality and restaurant management.<\/p>\n
The Menu<\/strong><\/p>\n Ashton said their most popular smoothie is Blue Banana, which has blue spirulina (a blue-green algae with anti-inflammatory benefits), acai, banana, grass-fed whey protein, cashew butter, coconut butter and almond milk.<\/p>\n Avocado Smash Toast<\/p>\n On my first visit to Pure Green, my friend Debbie Aronson and I split a Tropical Breeze smoothie, consisting of mango, pineapple, coconut butter, orange juice and almond milk. She pronounced our 20-ounce beverage \u201cdelicious,\u201d while it didn\u2019t seem sweet enough to me. That\u2019s deliberate.<\/p>\n \u201cOur menu offers items made with healthy, whole foods, superfood supplements with no added sugar,\u201d Kelly said. The only sweeteners in the store are honey and maple syrup, which I learned afterward I might have requested for my smoothie.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On another visit, I ordered a Chocolate Mousse smoothie. The ingredients are raw cacao, avocado, banana, grass-fed whey protein, coconut butter and almond milk. The texture was like a milkshake.<\/p>\n I had never tried an acai bowl before going with Pure Green\u2019s top-selling Mixed Berry Acai Bowl. Organic and wild-harvested acai is blended with frozen fruits to create a creamy frozen base consistency for the bowl. The base then is topped with organic hemp granola, fresh fruits, nut butters \u2014 I chose almond butter \u2014 and superfoods. Acai is loaded with antioxidants, polyphenols and nutrients. I was happy with my tasty bowl topped with granola, fresh blueberries and strawberries. I\u2019ll get it again.<\/p>\n When it comes to the Toasts category, Avocado Smash Toast on seeded bread is another item I liked a lot, as do many other visitors. \u201cI personally love our Chocolate Hazelnut Toast,\u201d Ashton said. \u201cIt\u2019s hearty, so you feel full after eating. But the taste is divine! It is a great balance of healthiness while hitting that chocolate-lover tooth people may have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t tried any of the Pure Green Pitaya Bowls yet. They\u2019re made with organic pitaya, also called Dragon Fruit, which is said\u00a0to have a bright pink color. Other menu items I\u2019ll be sampling are the Steel-Cut Oatmeal Bowls, featuring organic steel-cut oats. They are handcrafted, made-to-order and topped with superfoods. One attractive choice is Honey Magic, which adds walnuts, apple, cranberries, cinnamon and raw honey to the oatmeal bowl.<\/p>\n Agave, a natural sweetener, is used in Pure Green\u2019s Pure Gingerade Juice and Active Charcoal Juice. I tried several of the prepared cold press juices my third time back, and my favorite was light-tasting and refreshing Grape Hydr8. Kelly said the juice is good for adding electrolytes \u2014 minerals essential to body functions \u2014\u00a0after a workout. I could taste the strong ginger in Soul Kick juice, one of three customer favorites. The others are Melon Hydrate and Golden Girl.\u00a0 Kelly said she sometimes reaches for APL (Apple, Lemon, Ginger) juice \u201cas a replacement meal, if I\u2019m on the road and can\u2019t stop for lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n Mixed Berry Acai Bowl<\/p>\n Pure Green also offers a cleansing routine for better health.\u00a0The hardcore cleanse involves drinking four green juices per day and two additional juices\u00a0of\u00a0choice.<\/p>\n \u201cWith each green juice offering the nutrients\u00a0of 5 pounds\u00a0of\u00a0fruits and vegetables, this cleanse saturates our bodies with healthy nutrition,\u201d Ashton explained.\u00a0Pure Green\u2019s juices are preserved with high-pressure processing so there are no added chemical\u00a0preservatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n Results of the cleanse will vary because \u201ceveryone is uniquely\u00a0made and their\u00a0body\u00a0has an individual response\/outcome,\u201d she said. For herself, Ashton\u2019s results after the three-day hardcore cleanse \u201cwere\u00a0better than the 12-day raw vegetable liver cleanse I used to do.\u201d She\u00a0said she experienced significantly reduced\u00a0inflammation, alleviation of joint pain, much better sleep, elimination of water\u00a0retention and increased energy.<\/p>\n \u201cPure Green aligns perfectly with today\u2019s focus on healthy dining,\u201d Miller said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see people enjoying everything the city has to offer,\u201d\u00a0and now there\u2019s Pure Green Birmingham, open till 9 p.m. daily, offering\u00a0\u201cthe added convenience of a kosher smoothie, snack or light lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n With their business kosher-certified, Kelly said she\u00a0and Ashton are \u201cexcited to serve even more people and make our space even more inclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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