Electrolyfe Juice Bar on Elvis Presley Blvd. marked its second anniversary Saturday morning with a celebration that also kicked off 2nd Annual Whitehaven Black Restaurant Week.
Whitehaven residents packed the organic juice bar out.
“Although it wasn’t a grand opening, I thought it was important to mark our second year in operation,” said owner Quavisa Henderson. “Every anniversary is a momentous occasion. I have a friend who opened up their spot the same time I did, and they are closed already.”
Henderson heaped praised on the Whitehaven community for its support, noting that, “Community support is the lifeline of any business. There would be no Electrolyfe without it.”
The 2nd Annual Whitehaven Black Restaurant Week extends Sunday, January 26. The week-long, special patronage salute to black restaurants is the brainchild of Pearl Walker.
“It was during the “I Love Whitehaven Week” in 2017,” said Walker. “So it started bugging me that all these people would come to the Whitehaven community for the King parade, and when the parade was over, all the people were gone in less than an hour. That would really bug me.
“So I thought, ‘What if we created a specific, more intentional effort to have people stay in the Whitehaven to eat?’ People don’t always need a cleaners or to purchase a car, or even buy insurance. But people always need to eat. I thought it would be a great idea to target our black restaurants.”
Memphis City Council Chairperson Patrice Robinson, who represents the area, was on hand to salute Electrolyfe and Whitehaven Black Restaurant Week. She presented commemorative proclamations to Henderson and Walker.
The Rev. Dr. Earle J. Fisher, senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in the heart of Whitehaven, touted the importance of supporting African-American businesses.
“Any thriving and stabilized community has a system and strategy to keep its resources circulating within it before they are funneled out of it,” he said. “Whitehaven can lead the way in black economic stabilization and sovereignty. It starts with an intentional and unified support of black businesses within our community.
“And instead of giving tax breaks to corporations who don’t need them, we should make investments in small, black-owned businesses to help stem the tide of corporate welfare and economic inequity.”
Henderson said her juice bar also serves fresh, organic selections, including: salads, grilled chicken wraps, grilled salmon wraps, Cajun turkey melt, grab-n-go wraps for those in a hurry, and other organic choices.
Electrolyfe Juice Bar is located at 4466 Elvis Presley Blvd. A second location was opened in the Hickory Hill community at 3724 S. Mendenhall. It has been open since July, 2019.
The following restaurants signed up for this year’s Whitehaven Black Restaurant Week. Walker encourages patronage throughout the week and all year round of these and other eateries in the community.
Bala’s West African Bistro
2160 Raines Rd
901-509-3024
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.
Egg King Café
4458 Elvis Presley Blvd.
901-249-3690
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Eggactly Breakfast & Deli
1248 Marlin Rd.
901-729-7598
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday Brunch, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Electrolyte Juice Bar
4466 Elvis Presley. Ste. 164
901-244-6727
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Kountry Cookin’
1128 Winchester Rd.
901-345-5505
Hours: Sunday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Uncle Lou’s
3633 Millbranch Rd.
901-332-2367
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
