There’s a new corner bar in Bucktown, and given the line of people waiting for drinks on a Wednesday at 9am, I’d say it’s off to a good start.

Sisters Colleen and Elizabeth Murzyn opened Green Corner, on the corner of Damen and Cortland, just before the holidays. The first-of-its-kind juice bar offers a variety of all-organic juices and smoothies, as well as a cleanse program that has been extremely popular.

The menu offerings range from the more traditional, fresh squeezed orange or grapefruit, to those juices that require a little more bravery from the juice novice, such as The Limelight (kale, cucumber, parsley, lime and green apple). A green juice newbie, I went for it. The Limelight ($9) was fresh, way thinner than I expected (in a good way) and a beautiful shade of green.

Green Corner currently sources the majority of its organic produce from Stanley’s and plans to work with local farms and farmer’s markets this summer.
 “If you drink pesticides, you drink poison,” says Elizabeth. Colleen adds, “When you grind up produce with pesticides on it, the pesticides are even more potent. Using organic makes our juices more expensive, and we know that, but people really are getting tons of nutrients.”

To get a sense of what Green Corner is all about, I did the three-day cleanse developed by the Murzyn sisters. “Colleen and I had gone to Turkey together the year before we started the business and a friend directed us to a detox center in the middle of nowhere. We did a weeklong cleanse By the end, we felt completely rejuvenated and wanted to share that with other people.”

Living on different coasts at the time, Colleen in Los Angeles and Elizabeth in New York, the two girls noted that people in their cities were really into juicing but realized there was nothing comparable in their hometown. The Bucktown natives moved home to start the family business. And it really is a family business. Their parents own the building that houses the juice bar, their dad has a dental practice upstairs and their mom can often be found working the register.

“My dad was skeptical at first. He said, ‘coffee shop?’ and we said, ‘juice bar.’ And then he said, coffee shop?’” says Colleen. “But he read some books and a study from the Mayo Clinic and changed his tune. We’re not doctors, but we do know this is good for you.” Both sisters did their homework, reading everything they could find, working with a nutritionist and testing various recipes before developing the menu of juices ($9) and the Green Corner Cleanse ($65/day, recommended 3-7 days).

Colleen and Elizabeth suggest a juice cleanse every three or six months. “The human body is meant to rest its digestive system,” Colleen says. “Most religions have a  period of fasting, this is nothing new. But in the modern world, we ingest chemicals without even knowing it so it’s really important. Our cleanse let’s your body restore and recharge naturally. Your body can refocus the energy it usually uses for digestion and begin to heal itself.”

Each day begins with grapefruit juice—this was honestly the best grapefruit juice I have ever had. The backbone of the cleanse is four 16oz. bottles of the Green Corner blend sipped throughout the day. Made from spinach, kale, celery, cucumber, lemon and apple, this juice is packed with nutrients. In between green juices, there’s one bottle of beet/carrot/ginger. While I’m good with beets in salad, I found this particular juice a little sweet. But the mix of vitamins is important, so I pushed on. 

After three days, aside from a few moments of wanting to knock people down and steal their food, I felt alert, lighter and shockingly not hungry. I missed the act of eating, but I could definitely see doing a cleanse to kick off the summer and stopping in for a Green Corner whenever I need an energy boost.

Green Corner is a great addition to the neighborhood and the sisters are both glad to be home. “We grew up in Bucktown and have seen it change so much; it’s really a gift to open a business where we have such a strong history,” says Elizabeth.

Elizabeth and Colleen are both lithe, devout yogis and juicers, but they are also realistic about their hometown and their commuter-friendly location. In addition to juice and smoothies, Green Corner offers organic, fair trade coffee.

Something to remember: A cleanse is not a diet. On the Green Corner plan you’re consuming 20lbs of fruits and vegetables a day and taking in about 1,200 calories. Most people do experience weight loss and feel lighter, but pounds shed on a cleanse are likely to return once you begin eating again.

Green Corner
1880 N. Damen Ave., Chicago
773.292.4393; greencornerchicago.com