By Julia Barcello
Barvida Juice Bar was welcomed to Greenwich Avenue with a line of customers and a sunny day this past weekend. The juice bar was opened in 2019 with their first location in Darien. The couple behind the all-organic, vegan and cheeky spot are Brennan Branca and Tara Rose Schreiber. They share a passion for health and wellness.
Branca, a Darien resident and Schreiber, from Manhattan, both said Greenwich Avenue was their dream. Branca excitedly expressed his adoration for the town; “I always thought it was a cool place to be. Just get coffee, hang out, chill, shop. So this was always a dream.”
Shreiber shares this love saying, “Oh my God, we love Greenwich. We were so excited about Greenwich. We were looking for a while and this opportunity presented itself.”
Both express gratitude for being able to engage with the community. Branca says that has been the best part; “Getting connected to the communities is really cool… Greenwich has been unbelievable. So I think just meeting everybody in the different communities.”
The founding of Barvida was more than just creating a place for people to eat. Branca explained it was about the experience and encouraging healthy eating.
“We threw everything into this concept and just wanted to create a really healthy, uncompromising place, where you can get good quality food that tastes great with a good vibe, good music, good people.”
Branca, originally from San Diego, explained he wanted to bring that modern verve to Fairfield County, “I was a little frustrated by how much more progressive they were out on the West Coast with these kinds of concepts, juice, smoothies, açai bowls, and how we couldn’t find that concept out here.”
The couple says they felt there was a gap in the health and wellness food market. Schreiber outlined that they felt the issue was the lack of good and healthy food.
“Either the food was genuinely healthy, but it didn’t taste good and it didn’t inspire people to come back and actually eat healthy, or we felt like it was really cool and it was under the umbrella of being healthy. But then when you actually looked into it, it wasn’t healthy at all… It was also kind of hurting the health and wellness industry because people were now believing that this was healthy and comparing everything to this thing.”
Barvida has been successful with now three locations, 8,557 followers on Instagram and loyal customers.
Branca’s grandmother, Melanie Branca, was thrilled to be at the opening, saying she is proud of the couple. “I am so proud of him [Brennan] and Tara, they have worked so hard.” She praised their level of care, “[Their] attention to every single detail, and that includes everything they do, everything they produce, anytime they hand something to a customer, it’s with that same care and attention to detail.”
Hadley Cooney, a Fairfield resident, made her way to the grand opening at 9:15 a.m. to get firstdibs on a crafted tote bag and free smoothie.
Cooney said she knows she can rely on Barvida for a clean treat. “It’s delicious. I like the ingredients that they use. It has a good aesthetic… I like to eat healthy and clean, and so it’s good to just come here and know that everything’s going to be healthy and clean, perfect.”
The couple expressed their thanks to their supporters and are proud of what they accomplished.
“The first time somebody told us we were at their favorite spot, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves… So it’s really, it’s kind of amazing to have created something that other people love,” said Schreiber.
