Jamba Juice manager makes transition to ownership

One of the most popular-and-still-remembered television commercials to come out of the late 1970s was the claim by Victor Kiam, who said he was so impressed with the Remington electric shaver that he bought the company.

Some 30 years later comes Shannon Rodriguez whose love for fruity, healthy summertime thirst quenchers dates back to her days in high school when she lived in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. "I just loved Jamba Juice as a kid," she says. "Went there as often as I could." So, following the lead of Victor Kiam, two years ago, she bought a stake in the company.

Rodriguez now owns two Jamba Juice stores, one in Reno, the other in Sparks.

When she and her husband relocated from Southern California to Reno in 2005, they had a small ownership position in four Papa John's pizza stores. But when the majority owner decided to sell, both were not retained by the new owner. Rodiguez' husband went to work for Federal Express while she began searching for a new opportunity.

"Jamba Juice had opened a store near Damonte Ranch and I was offered a job there," she says. Shortly, she was named manager of three stores in the Reno-Sparks area. Then, lightning hit. The Jamba Juice management approached Shannon Rodriguez to see if she would be interested in purchasing all three stores through a franchising arrangement.

"I was completely excited and told them heck yeah," she recalls. "But I told them I did not want the Damonte Ranch store. I did my financial homework on that store and felt it would always be a struggle. We were closing the deal in the winter and because Jamba Juice is a seasonal business, I was concerned that the store could not pull us through the winter. So I passed. Subsequently, the company decided to close the Damonte Ranch store."

The Reno store is located on Kietzke at South McCarran which does a spirited business both in the early morning and in the afternoon, especially for the after-school crowd. Likewise, the Sparks store at Prater and Sparks Boulevard is doing well. Rodriguez visits at least one store each day and, when time permits, visits both. Her husband also checks in during the afternoon following his shift at FedEx.

"I have two very responsible and valuable general managers and everything runs well because I have a very good team," she says. "I hire kids who are goal-oriented, who have a positive attitude and a sense of self, kids who are happy to look for work and happy to have a job. One of the things I do have concerns about, though, is the next workforce generation. I don't see that much interest in finding work. There seems to have been kind of a shift there since I was their age."

Rodriguez says until this past year, her company did a lot of work with the schools. But the school district put restrictions on the number of outside vendors who could work with individual schools, especially on fundraising campaigns. But that hasn't stopped her from connecting with more groups and organizations.

"I've tried to do a lot more in the community and have developed a strong love for Reno which, I must admit, was a shock to me when we first moved here. Today I am absolutely in love with the Reno area and am never leaving."

She recently developed a good relationship with the Reno-Tahoe PGA golf tournament organizers and was one of the vendors at Hot August Nights. While she says her company will not likely participate in the Reno Air Races, her firm will be present for the Reno Balloon Races in early September. She says her firm also has developed a good relationship with the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and have benefited from several events there.

Rodriguez says the staffing level is different in summer months than winter.

"Right now, I've got about 20 employees in each store and we are open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. We have a good morning rush and business remains fairly steady throughout the day. We get a large after school push when school is in session. We also get a good breakfast crowd and we do offer the most amazing oatmeal available anywhere. We are also pushing 22 drinks that will be less than 250 calories. Jamba Juice is always doing research, adding to the menu."

So, don't ask her if there is life after Jamba Juice. She is solidly sold. "Life is Jamba Juice," she says.