Bites Nearby: Smoothie King

Angel Guzman has been managing the Smoothie King on 13106 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Carrollwood for two years. A converted health nut, Guzman sat down with Patch’s Gina Melton to talk about the many products Smoothie King offers and why he loves his job.

Patch: What’s the best part about working here?

Guzman: I’ve gotten a lot healthier! When I first started, I didn’t really work out and ate a lot of fast food. I started seeing customers coming in that were very health conscious and it was contagious. Now, I work out and really try to eat healthy.

Patch: Besides smoothies, what else does Smoothie King offer?

Guzman: We just started carrying healthy hot pretzels and we have nutritious snacks, vitamins and supplements to help people lose weight or gain weight. We have customers who are going through chemotherapy who are struggling to keep their weight up and our supplements have really helped them.

Patch: Have you seen transformation in some of your customers?

Guzman: We are right next door to a Weight Watchers. All our smoothies have assigned points values to accommodate their weight loss plan, so after Weight Watcher members go for their weekly meeting, they come in for a smoothie and I get to see how much progress they’ve made.

Patch: Do you like to cook at home?

Guzman: I don’t cook at home much. Smoothies are just not the same at home. Smoothie King has Vitamix blenders and orders their fruit from special wholesalers and you just can’t replicate that at home.  When I’m not eating at Smoothie King, I’ll grab a Publix sandwich or Panera because they have lots of healthy options.

Patch: What are the most popular smoothies?

Guzman: The Gladiator, because it has 45 grams of protein and 180 calories, and Caribbean Way because it has no fat and is low calorie. Personally, I love the Island Impact (made with pineapple, papaya, mango and mango sorbet). People also like  to add in an energy boost and multivitamins into their smoothies.