Bliss Juice Bar Brings Fresh Energy to the Heart of Red Hook

At just 22, Annie Sullivan bought a small but popular juice bar in her hometown of Red Hook. Five years later, she’s grown the business and moved to one of the most prominent and visible buildings in the center of the bustling village. Now, the much bigger, lovingly renovated Bliss Juice and Smoothie Bar is packed every day with locals and visitors who are responding to the menu and bright space that reflects Sullivan’s vision.

"I want Bliss to be an oasis," Sullivan says. "A place where people can come in, take a deep breath, and know they’re putting something good into their bodies. That’s the goal."

The new Bliss, at the crossroads of Broadway and Market Street, feels almost spa-like, with teal walls, floral wallpaper accents, and white paper lanterns. A large bar welcomes customers, flanked by cozy seating that invites them to linger over cold-pressed juices, smoothies, coffee, matcha,  and nourishing bowls. It’s a stark contrast to the former 400-square-foot location just a few yards away that was little more than a counter and a massive, high-end industrial cold press. Now, with more room to breathe, Sullivan has been able to expand the menu and fully realize her dream for the business.

"We’ve been busting at the seams for at least a year," says Sullivan, who owns the business with boyfriend Mike Kelly. "We really reached our capacity. So we were thinking, what’s next? A second location? A larger space? And then a customer walked in and told me this space was becoming available. It felt like a serendipitous moment."

She’s also got plans for future growth. With a liquor licence in the works, a light dinner menu and cocktails made with fresh squeezed ingredients are coming in the not-to-distant future.

Healthy Roots

Sullivan’s approach to running Bliss is deeply rooted in her Red Hook upbringing. Her mother, Tara Sullivan, has long been an advocate for healthy eating and conscious living. A former chief executive of the New York State Bridge Authority, she now helps Annie with the logistics of running a fast-growing business. Her father, Ned Sullivan, is the president of Scenic Hudson, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting the region’s natural beauty.

“Healthy eating has always been a priority in our household,” Tara Sullivan says. "We were focused on organic, local food before it was trendy. Once you start eating this way, it’s hard to go back."

Annie Sullivan’s enthusiasm for juice started in high school when her mother introduced her to cold-pressed juice cleanses from a small business in Rhinebeck. “There was this cool gal in Rhinebeck making cold-pressed juices in her home and selling them for custom cleanses,” she says. "My mom would order them for us, and we’d do a juice cleanse once a season. I didn’t dream of owning a juice bar, but when I started working at Nourish [the previous name of the business], my boss Jeni Wrightson opened my eyes to this incredible product."

Not long after graduating college with a degree in political science, Sullivan bought Nourish and its big Goodnature X1 juice extractor, and rebranded it as Bliss, to denote the feeling she hopes her customers feel when they drink and eat her products.

Cold-Pressed Quality

At the heart of Bliss Juice Bar’s menu is its cold-pressed juice—which deserves all the attention it’s getting not just for its flavor and high nutritional content but also for its surprisingly silky-smooth texture. Bliss’s almond milk, which they use in their robust ethically sourced coffee  service, is revelatory and tastes so smooth, rich and clean it bares almost no resemblance to any prepackaged version. 

"Juice has been part of this business forever, and that machine [the X1] is to thank for it," Sullivan says. "It grinds up whole pineapples, whole carrots, and beets, turning them into a really nutrient-dense, really pure, really delicious drink. If you make juice like this with any other type of juicer, you don’t get the same quality."

Customers can choose from staple juices like Girl Power ($13), a blend of beets, ginger, and citrus; Immunity ($13), packed with orange, carrot, and turmeric; or Green Glow ($13), made with kale, cucumber, and apple. Smoothies range from the protein-rich Chocolate PB Dream ($12) to the antioxidant-packed Berry Bliss ($12). These are also available in bowl format with Granola and other toppings. 

Substitutions are welcome here. Bliss will make you exactly the smoothie combination a customer is after, to order. Sullivan says she wants to be a community resource. She’s been moved by being able to help her neighbors find the right option for their dietary needs, and when local kids need something nutritious but soft after a trip to the orthodontist. “That’s a part of this business that is so rewarding,” she says.

Bliss’s expansion into vegetarian food is led by recent Culinary Institute of America grad, chef Patricia Barinas. The menu features options like the Hudson Valley Harvest Bowl ($14), with quinoa and seasonal vegetables, and the Macro Burrito Bowl ($15), which includes mango salsa and tempeh. "We wanted to create dishes that are nourishing and satisfying," Sullivan says. "And we make sure to have plenty of vegan and gluten-free options."

Squeezing More out of the Opportunity

With the new space in full swing, Sullivan has more plans on the horizon, including a cold-pressed cocktail and mocktail bar that will serve drinks made with local spirits. "That beautiful bar is just waiting," she says. "We’re excited to bring something new to Red Hook while staying true to what makes Bliss special."

While serving alcohol mixed with healthy juices might seem incongruous at first, Sullivan says with a chuckle that since juice and smoothies make you feel better after a night of drinking and replenishing nutrients, at her bar you can “detox while you retox.”