Have a Juicy Day

Bamboo Beach Brings Tropical Vibe to the Neighborhood

Avisit to Tenerife in 2019 sparked a dream that Nicole Jankowski and Anxhelo Taho have now brought to life in South Boston.

“We had the best time and we were only there for three days, but it was so much fun,” Nicole said. On the last day, they found a juice cafe right on the water. “It was just beautiful,” Anxhelo added. “The atmosphere was great.”

Nicole, who was 19 years old at the time, knew right then: “We need to take this home because I don’t know of any place like that.”

Bamboo Beach Juice Bar opens Thursday, Jan. 26, at 687 E. Second St. in South Boston. The shop features juices, smoothies, acai bowls, wellness shots, and three types of toast (peanut butter, avocado, and pear). Everything is fresh, naturally healthy, and delicious.

The world-traveling couple, who met in college, bring the feelings they felt in Tenerife to their shop.

“There’s just people walking by going to the beach. The whole environment is carefree,” Anxhelo, 24, recalled. “It’s a beach town so everybody’s just there to enjoy themselves. The sun’s out and you had the beach next to the waves hitting and it was just like a vibe.”

Nicole, 23, added, “For me, it was a feeling. We just had the best three days ... the people in Europe, in general, they work to live. And it really shows. And that’s what we wanted to bring back here because sometimes people live to work. So we wanted to do the opposite.

“We want people to come in here and just forget about their problems for a little bit.”

After that trip, they started drawing up logos, Nicole started putting together a menu … “all these crazy things that kids do,” Nicole said. “Then we came to realize that we’re still in school. We have no money. So we decided to put it on the backburner.”

In 2021, Nicole graduated from UMass-Boston with a degree in psychology and Anxhelo graduated from Suffolk University with a business economics degree.

But they didn’t see futures in those career fields, said Nicole, though Anxhelo’s business background has been vital in this endeavor. They didn’t want to be in cubicles working 9-5 every day.

After graduating, Nicole, who has been in the restaurant industry for eight years, went back to the restaurant she worked at during school and Anxhelo worked various jobs to save money.

For a while, it was business as usual for the health- and wellnessoriented duo. “One day I got out of the gym with Anxhelo and I was like, ‘I feel like we have no direction. We have no passion right now,’ “ Nicole said. So they decided to take the initiative and look at spaces in South Boston.

Nicole, who grew up in Carver, MA, and Anxhelo, who was born in Albania, now live in Quincy. But Nicole has always wanted to live in South Boston, so they thought the neighborhood would be the perfect location for their business. Their target demographic is anyone who lives a healthy lifestyle, enjoys fitness, and is passionate about fueling their bodies with the best ingredients. They secured the East Second Street site in January 2022, but initially had some doubts. But with MyStryde across the street, M Street park up the street, and the Seaport District very close, they knew the location had great potential. “Everything just kind of fell into place,” Nicole said.

Bamboo Beach Juice Bar has a beachy, jungly atmosphere, like Tenerife. Floor to ceiling windows let in lots of light, and tables and a counter look out those windows. Surfboards decorate the place. Six clocks set to various beach time zones, such as Bali, Malibu, the Gold Coast, hang on the wall. Merchandise is displayed near the door. Anxhelo did a lot of the finishing and design work himself. They want people to come into the shop, hear the tropical music playing, and just relax and take a break from reality. “Step in and feel like you’re somewhere else, even for a little while,” Nicole said.

“We’re very proud of it,” she said. “We want everyone to have a juicy day!”

Hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Website: https:// bamboobeachjuicebar.com/ Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/ bamboobeachjuicebar

Instagram: @ bamboobeachjuicebar

N3V3R, a Unique South Boston Enterprise

by Rick Winterson

N3V3R is located in Fort Point’s Midway Studios. It is an enterprise that combines business interests with various original arts to form creative, powerful, and unmistakable signatures for N3V3R’s clients. Events and original music are the tools N3V3R uses, which began by performing this service for museum artists, studio artists, and art galleries; it has now expanded into developing and producing media for “identity Industries” such as fashion. Very soon, the N3V3R enterprise expanded this effort into multiple media, which morph into ongoing and constantly improved ways to view a product and/or a service. Along with this, incorporating stories, emotions, and experiences into the products of work takes place. This artistic service then becomes a constant, ongoing effort that in a way is “circular”.

John Korbas is the Founder, Creative Director, and Chief Executive Officer (the CEO) of N3V3R. John is a graduate of Suffolk University; he studied Political Science with a minor in Philosophy. He combines this intellectual background with his many musical talents and his painting, which qualified him to move to Midway

Artist Studios in the first place. During our interview, John spoke of how he makes music for N3V3R’s clients. “I want to harness the artist within us all”, he said. There’s even a love story here – John and N3V3R’s partner Meaghan are married.

Meaghan Korbas is a graduate of Suffolk University in History, with a minor in Philosophy. She is a partner and the Chief Operations Officer (the COO) of N3V3R, while holding a full-time job in one of Boston’s legal groups. In addition to her COO responsibilities, she has become a talented photographer – her photography was originally a college pursuit, and it now helps in the media designs for some fashion clients. And this has led as well to videos, drawings, and paintings, also created by Meaghan.

One of N3V3R’s offshoots is a trio – an avant-garde jazz trio with John on bass guitar, a N3V3R partner named “Bellig” on guitar, and Thomas Golding (his performing name is “Hama”). Thomas is a drummer, percussionist, and an expert on the Akai MPC. He also consults musically for N3V3R projects. John himself has an extensive musical background that goes back 30 years, and includes performing on guitar, bass keyboards, synthesizers, and vocals. He has also been named to the

Musical National Honor Society. N3V3R is more than just an enterprise in a Fort Point live/work studio – it’s also a center of creativity. During this interview, we talked about LEGO’s move to Boston in 2025 and how they might possibly put N3V3R’s creativity to work. As could local service businesses perhaps –such as cleaning, child care, and in-home education. Who knows?

But back to business. As mentioned, N3V3R’s products, services, and creations are unique. It’s worth the time to have a conversation with them. And it’s a discussion you’ll certainly enjoy. Contact John and Meaghan Korbas at (774)571-7954 (or at TheArtist@ N3V3R.Online), Midway Artist Studios, 15 Channel Center Street, Unit 401, South Boston, MA 02210

Lou Jones Exhibits at SPOKE Gallery

by Rick Winterson

Once upon a time, Lou Jones was a physicist and an engineer, working for local firms such as Sylvania here in Boston and at NASA for rocketry. This was by virtue of a Physics degree and his graduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). You would be entitled to ask about Lou’s highly successful transition, away from what is now called “high tech” into photography of all kinds – personal, commercial, historic, cultural, technical, engineering, and high-rise construction, as well as photography for gallery exhibitions and for collections at major museums.

After more than 50 years of exploring new photographic frontiers, Lou now enjoys a worldwide reputation in photography’s ever-changing field. His work has been published in Time/Life; he has initiated long-term projects on Central American civil wars, the Olympic Games, death row, and the Tall Ships. Lou has photographed and authored a dozen books, and has taught at Mass College of Art and the Art Institute of Boston. His exhibits have been many and extensive – Griffin Museum of Photography, DeCordova Museum, Boston City Hall, Worcester Art Museum, Roxbury Community College, Cape Cod Museum of Art, and many others.

And now, South Boston is privileged to have Lou Jones exhibiting here at the SPOKE Gallery. His exhibit is called “4 Corners 6 Continents: A Continuum of Photographs by Lou Jones”. He attended his exhibit in person last Thursday, much to the delight of the crowd, who were viewing the exhibit both at the SPOKE Gallery and via ZOOM. Partway through the evening, Lou was interviewed by SPOKE Curator Kathleen Bitetti. In response to her questions, he talked emphatically of how much he has come to love photography of nearly all kinds during his career. He described how much different Africa was from its stereotypes, when he began shooting his panAFRICA Project. And he closed by stating that color photographs have become the world’s universal language.

Here’s what Lou himself said in an email interview with South Boston Online, the day after he took part in person at his exhibit –

“I have been in the business so long that I have seen all the many changes … that have occurred. The publishers, curators, and editors held sway and once were the ‘gatekeepers’ for advancement in arts. But now social media have given artists such new venues to show their imaginations. Since the world has seen photography quickly become the de facto ‘universal language’, communities can communicate from divergent parts of the world without language or translation. They can see what each other looks like everywhere.”

Lou has carefully selected 13 photographs for his unique exhibit at SPOKE Gallery. “Eclectic” is the perfect word to describe these images from his highly varied photographic career – images of the Olympics, the Tall Ships, his panAFRICA project, much world travel, and so on. When you see it, note the precision in Lou’s “Swimming XXV Olympiad” and his “Recording Music Video”. Gaze at our favorite photograph – “After Rain” in Old Havana, Cuba – which strikingly depicts a reflection! Be sure to read the well-curated notes that describe Lou Jones. He’s a highly successful Boston craftsman with a studio on Breed Street. And Lou’s South Boston exhibit is nearby. Just walk over to the SPOKE Gallery at 844 Summer Street, where it is the solo show from now until Friday afternoon, February 24th. The Gallery is open 12 noon until 5 p.m. on Wednesdays-ThursdaysFridays. So why don’t you take a quick look during your lunch break? Admission is free to the public; other hours are available by appointment.