Squeeze, a juice and smoothie joint, opened in the Rheem Shopping Center on September 6, replacing the previous tenant, Little Hearty Noodle.

Aiden Ciani, a Moraga resident, founded Squeeze because he was tired of driving to Lafayette just to get his smoothie fix. “I live in Moraga, and I love juice and smoothies. I used to go all the way to Jamba Juice in Lafayette to get my smoothies. And then I was complaining about that, like why don’t we have a smoothie place here? And then 1 of my friends said that I should start,” said Ciani. 

Ciani was also inspired by his visit to Europe last year. He noticed “how people have so much fun with food, and all the restaurants were so busy because people were out drinking and eating and having fun.” 

“I’m like, ‘We should have places like that over here, maybe this is 1 of the reasons the town becomes dead after 8 pm,'” said Ciani.

The joint’s menu includes smoothies, juices, and ice cream, as well as small bites like popcorn chicken, Italian meatballs, chicken wings, and egg rolls.

Squeeze’s goal is to serve quality foods at an affordable price. “The first thought was to have everything organic and from the Farmer’s Market, but then we calculated the price and everything came up as $11. And we thought, ‘High schoolers can’t afford that’, and we did not want them to be excluded, so we came up with another plan to still have organic fruits, but [made the smoothie prices] more affordable,” said Ciani.

“I think Squeeze is a really fun and fresh place. They have super welcoming vibes and the juice is really good for such a low price,” said junior Haley Hartman. “It’s always good to support local businesses.”

Squeeze is open to new ideas and suggestions, which can be made in person or through their Instagram, @moragasqueeze.

“Because this is not a corporation, I’m trying to make this place as friendly and open as possible, and we want people to really make this place theirs,” said Ciani.

“It’s pretty cool how they are open to suggestions,” said Hartman, whose suggestion to Squeeze would be the addition of electrical outlets because “they are going to need outlets if they want to appeal to teens.”

Ciani is also considering adding live music and would offer a free drink or discount for students willing to play. “If people like it, we could potentially turn it into a competition,” said Ciani.

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