Southridge High grad-turned-actor opens organic juice, coffee bar in Tri-Cities

Octavio Rodriguez was just 17 when he had two heart attacks.

The Kennewick teen cut caffeine and pre-workout supplements from his diet, but otherwise continued to eat fast food and anything else he wanted.

Fast forward six years to last November and Rodriguez, then 23, started getting bad chest pains again.

He went to see a holistic doctor who introduced him to a plant-based diet that consists of mostly juicing, with no processed foods or oils.

Within 2 1/2 months, he said his chest pains completely went away and he felt like a new person.

That’s the inspiration behind Rodriguez’s new business, a juice and coffee bar in Kennewick called, Just Juice.

“I was like, ‘Well, if I’m already doing (juicing) every day, and I have some time, I figured I’d share that experience,” Rodriguez, now 24, told the Tri-City Herald.

“I know there are a lot of people dealing with a lot of health issues, and there’s not a lot of resources, especially here in the Tri-Cities,” he said.

Just Juice opened Sept. 27 in the former Yoplicity Frozen Yogurt shop, at 4309 W. 27th Place, just off South Union Street near Costa Vida.

A wall inside the front entrance is covered in plants with “just juicin’” in neon lights. The bathroom has a floor made out of pennies, with the initials “JJ,” and a wall covered in CDs.

You can check it out on Instagram @justgivememyjuice.

His hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and closed on Sunday.

Acting career

Rodriguez is a Tri-Cities native who graduated from Southridge High School in 2015.

He moved to Los Angeles six years ago to pursue acting, and has done mostly commercials and some TV. He appeared in an episode of NCIS: New Orleans in 2019, and was a five-episode guest start on Homeland last year.

He also has continued to work in construction, and noted that he was on the job one year ago when he suffered severe chest pains. He had multiple layers of clothing on because it was November, and said he started stripping them off because he found himself suddenly claustrophobic and unable to breathe.

At night, the stomach sleeper could no longer sleep because his chest hurt so bad, he said.

“I’m like, ‘OK, something needs to change, something drastic,’ and that’s when I went to seek help,” said Rodriguez.

He learned that his arteries were clogged and that his severe hair loss was connected to that and his heart issues.

Rodriguez said people are very health conscious in Los Angeles and there seems to be a juice bar on every corner. He figured why not open a shop in the Tri-Cities featuring all-organic cold-pressed juice and ethically sourced coffee.

“It’s been really busy. It’s been crazy,” said Rodriguez. “We didn’t really market it. I figured we just want it to be word-of-mouth, and let the products speak for themselves.”

The juice blends — between a smoothie and straight juice — are made in-house and bottled so they can be grab-and-go.

Juice selections include carrot, celery, root and greens. They are $9 each.

Rodriguez said for people who are hesitant about drinking fresh juice, some options are sweeter. His green juices are for people who “are really into the health kick.”

The store also features a “Just Coffee” menu, with espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, latte and mocha.

He said customers have been loving his cold brew, which he described as “super smooth and tasty.”

“Try for yourself. You be the judge,” said Rodriguez, adding that people soon will find cold-pressed juice is “not that bad.”