Taylor Nunez-Murray

Once peers at the Nativity School in Worcester and quickly close friends, Isaiah Tatum and Noel Stemn now boast new titles – business partners. The duo are owners of the newly opened WooJuice, a healthy haven tucked inside 22 Front Street where Worcester folks can sip on fresh pressed juices.

WooJuice seems like an organic fit for Tatum and Stemn. For some time, the pair knew they wanted to establish a business in the city they call home. However, it was not until a fateful trip to Atlanta that Tatum considered the juice business. “We were bouncing ideas for a while. I went down to Atlanta for an acting gig, and I saw there were juice bars everywhere. [I thought] ‘We don’t have this back home, this healthy choice,’” Tatum explains. Once he returned home and proposed the idea to Stemn, the two began to think up names and WooJuice was born. As Stemn put it, “When he mentioned the juice bar, [I said] that’s it, for sure. That’s a hit.”

WooJuice officially began in January of 2021. Tatum, already entrenched in nutritional research, started creating different combinations of fruits and vegetables to figure out beverages while he and Stemn registered their LLC. Before solidifying a brick and mortar location, WooJuice’s beginnings were in Tatum’s basement, providing fresh juice offerings to a loyal fanbase. “When we first started with family and friends, everyone was like ‘This is really good.’ We had no negative feedback. [We said], ‘Alright, the product is good. It’s worth it,’” recalls Tatum.

Both Tatum and Stemn knew in the early days that Worcester would be part of the brand – obvious by their business name. WooJuice is a tribute to the city where Tatum and Stemn were raised. Stemn, now 29-years-old, moved to the U.S. from Liberia at six-years-old, later meeting Tatum at Worcester’s Nativity School. Tatum, a 28-year-old Worcester native, would attend Holy Name Central Catholic High School (now Saint Paul Dioscesan Junior/Senior High School) and later Worcester State University. Even a quick glance at the menu is confirmation of the city’s importance to Tatum and Stemn – with names like “Kelley Splash”, “Green Hill Glow”, and “Crompton Kool Aid”, each item is a reference Worcesterites will immediately recognize. 

And the city is responding positively. With the soft opening of the physical Front Street location, the Worcester community proved their interest in the juice bar. “[Worcester] really loves it. We are glad to know that people are looking for healthy options and glad to know we’re their first option. Who doesn’t like health? It’s healthy and delicious,” Stemn affirms.

As their business takes off, Tatum and Stemn continue to look for ways to give to the Worcester community outside their juices. Acknowledging how influential the Nativity School was in their upbringings, Tatum and Stemn sponsor the basketball team and get involved with the school’s mentorship opportunities. Stemn explains, “We just try to be as involved with Nativity as much as we can. We try to keep them in our story the whole way.” In fact, upon entering WooJuice, customers will see a Nativity School basketball jersey with the WooJuice logo proudly displayed on its brightly colored walls – complete with a mural by local artist Ryan Gardell. While the community can check out the business now, WooJuice’s grand opening will take place April 7. 

WooJuice is located inside 22 Front Street in Worcester. Order ahead for pick up at woojuice508.com. Follow @woo_juice508 on Instagram for news and updates.