Blenz Bowls, a new dining location serving smoothies and smoothie bowls, will open Tuesday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center, according to a post Feb. 2 by the U.Va. Dine Instagram account. The new dining location will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will take over the space of Juice Laundry located in the AFC, as both Juice Laundry locations closed abruptly in the middle of the Fall 2025 semester due to operation difficulties with U.Va. Dine.
Blenz Bowls was founded in 2018 at the University of Alabama and has since branched out to 16 college campuses across the southeastern United States. According to U.Va. Dine Marketing Manager Andrew Smith, the University location for Blenz Bowls was intended to open around the end of January, though the snowstorm delayed preparations. The opening was first announced in a Jan. 5 post on the U.Va. Dine Instagram account, although a date wasn’t initially specified.
According to Smith, construction of Blenz Bowls began in late December and mostly involved revamping the old Juice Laundry layout. Smith added that Blenz Bowls operates as a third-party vendor, thus has their own equipment which does not require much additional construction from the University.
Smith also said that U.Va. Dine meets monthly with a small group of students, the Student Dining Advisory Board, to make decisions on the improvement of U.Va. Dine programs. He noted that the arrival of any new dining option on Grounds often comes after student feedback and suggestions, like the Cilantro and Lime station — a build-your-own Chipotle-style option — at Runk Dining Hall. Bringing Blenz Bowls to Grounds was a collaborative decision between the board and U.Va. Dine, according to an email statement to The Cavalier Daily from U.Va. Dine Business Services.
“The partnership [with Blenz Bowls] was formed in large part due to a request for smoothie and coffee-based drinks and bowls,” the email stated. “Our Student Dining Advisory Board meets with us monthly and consistently shares insights into the types of dining options students want to see on Grounds.”
As for staffing, Smith said U.Va. Dine expects the location to be majority student-staffed and has already received many applications.
Several students expressed their excitement for the opening of Blenz Bowls, noting the convenience of having a healthy dining option before or after workouts, dance classes and other fitness activities at the AFC. Third-year Engineering student Sebastian Baldeon said he frequently goes to the AFC and that the opening of Blenz Bowls will be helpful after his workouts.
“I’m definitely going to be trying it, and I am excited,” Baldeon said. “I’m usually at the AFC four to five times a week, so I think it’s a pretty good location.”
Other students said the giveaway — an opportunity for two students to win free smoothie bowls for the entire semester by commenting on a Blenz Bowls Instagram post and following the U.Va. Dine account — added to their excitement.
The arrival of Blenz Bowls also serves as a similar option for those who miss Juice Laundry. First-year Engineering student Meera Mathew said she is looking forward to the opening of Blenz Bowls as it will serve similar menu items to Juice Laundry.
“I’m assuming it’ll be similar to Juice Laundry, which a lot of people really enjoyed [and] used to be previously in that same location,” Mathew said. “I feel like [Blenz Bowls] is a good replacement for [Juice Laundry], now that [it’s] gone.”
According to Smith, the AFC is one of the most fitting locations on Grounds for the new dining location.
“The AFC makes a lot of sense for [Blenz Bowls], location-wise [and] logistically,” Smith said. “It’s perfect for an after-the-gym type of thing. I think it’ll be a really popular concept as well.”
Blenz Bowls will offer both meal exchange and Flex Dollar options, with the meal exchange options being any of the original 16-ounce smoothies. The menu, which is already available on GrubHub, offers a variety of build-your-own smoothie bowl options, protein smoothies and cold brew coffee smoothies. This is a change from the Juice Laundry options, which only offered Flex Dollar menu items.
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