Daniel Luckey has worked all over the downtown strip, from Rudy’s Pizzeria to Merchants Pub & Plate to The Bourgeois Pig and more. Now, he’s channeling his decades of service industry experience into opening a grab-and-go-style smoothie and juice shop in the 800 block of Mass.
With community-sourced recipes and whimsical interior design, Fresh Cut Smoothies is tentatively set to open before the summer is out.
“I would love for the space to be community-focused,” Luckey said. “Not too hip, just fun, approachable. Just a little something that you can pop by while you’re walking the beautiful streets of downtown.”
Smoothie and juice shops are experiencing a surge in popularity, and Luckey pinpointed this as a strong business model. However, more nostalgically, he remembers the days of the downtown Juice Stop, which he frequented growing up. His go-to order was the Half Pipe smoothie with guava.
Luckey also considered the value of a fast but nourishing food option for downtown visitors, as well as the folks who live and work there.
“Once they (Juice Stop) shut down, I was always just kind of like — I wish there was something, because I’ve been working down here for almost 20 years at this point, and I just have felt like I would love a healthy grab-and-go option,” Luckey said.
After noodling on the idea of a smoothie shop for about four or five years, he jumped at the opportunity to lease the space that once held North Amyx Barber Shop. Malcolm Miller, the owner of the space and the Amyx Barber Shop next door, initially thought a retail venture would be ideal, as the building had housed a barber shop since the early 1900s.
The unit required a significant overhaul to meet Kansas Department of Agriculture standards for a food establishment. Luckey, however, was not deterred.
“The location’s so wonderful, and I just — I had to give it a shot,” he said.
As he works to “retrofit everything to fit a restaurant,” laboring over murals, light fixtures, window displays, and more, he has also set to the critical task of developing a menu.
“I’m not dogmatic about my smoothies,” Luckey said. “What people want, I will give them. And it’s just, you know, it’s an exercise in listening, it’s like any other relationship.”
Listening for Luckey meant taking to social media, asking future customers to submit recipes and smoothie requests. If their recipe is selected for the menu, they might even get to name it “within reason,” as the website specifies.
“I’ve gotten over 150 responses,” Luckey said. “And I’ve been getting so much community feedback, it’s been great. It takes a village to raise a smoothie shop, it seems.”
Although the exact menu items are a closely guarded secret until opening, Luckey is clear about one thing: he wants to cater to diverse palates. He hopes to satisfy both sweet cravings and holistic impulses, with a mix of classic combinations and innovative pairings.
Luckey said he is “incorporating (ingredients) in the same way that you would with a cocktail, incorporating herbs, spices, local vegetables … turmeric, ginger, even a little black pepper always goes well with strawberries.”
He added that he is “trying to elevate some of the menu, but keeping enough of the menu approachable. People want the pineapple mango. People want the strawberry banana. So having something for everyone there.”
Luckey hadn’t anticipated that a desire for fresh juice would shine through in responses. Even though it wasn’t part of the original plan, he has now invested in a quality juicer and said he is “going to be doing fresh local spotlight juices with local purveyors.”
The Fresh Cut Smoothies menu will also feature other items, such as soft pretzels and Repetition coffee. Luckey, who does work with the Economic Development Committee of the Douglas County Food Policy Council, hopes that these offerings will expand as locals reach out to him wanting to sell snacks onsite.
“My dream is that I will be a hub for people to sell their own food stuffs and helping them get food production licenses,” Luckey said. “I would really love to see young entrepreneurs or people who are thinking about getting into this industry to give them an avenue, or even my employees, an avenue. Maybe you’ll be a GM one day. Maybe you’ll end up getting your own percentage of equity and to be able to be to give back to the community that has given us a lot.”
If renovations stick to the timeline, Luckey intends to have Fresh Cut Smoothies open to the public in three to four weeks at 842 Massachusetts St. Updates will be posted on the store’s Facebook and Instagram.
Entrepreneurs interested in collaborating with Luckey or people looking to work at the shop can reach him at dan@freshcutsmoothies.com.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), community reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.
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