Black-owned juice bar broken into just days after opening in south Minneapolis

Minnesota’s first Black-owned juice bar was vandalized overnight, forcing it to close just days after its grand opening.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota’s first Black-owned juice bar was broken into overnight, forcing it to close just days after its grand opening.

Catiesha Pierson, the owner of The Dripping Root, had to do what no small business owner wants to do on Friday, sending customers away as she focused on cleaning up after an early morning break in.

"I’m not going to let something like that ruin my shine or happiness for the amazing thing that’s been built and surrounded by community," Pierson told FOX 9.

The Dripping Root’s security camera captured video of the vandalism in progress. Two suspects, apparently targeting cash, shattered the juice bar’s front glass window, making a mess. Since the juice bar is cashless, the thieves did not get away with much before police arrived.

Pierson said the incident did not feel random.

"Like, is it someone I know? Someone that came through as a customer? Have they been watching through the window? I am getting goosebumps and shaky just thinking and talking about it," she said.

This was just the second week of business for The Dripping Root, located at the intersection of Minnehaha Avenue and 40th Street. Pierson started making her own juice as a way to get her son to eat more fruits and vegetables. She would post her creations on Instagram and people started taking notice. Eventually, she started making and delivering fresh-pressed juices for friends and family when she was not working at her full-time job.

First Black-owned juice bar opens in South Minneapolis

Catiesha Pierson started making her own juice as a way to get her son to eat more fruits and vegetables. She would post her creations on Instagram and people started taking notice. Eventually, she started making and delivering fresh-pressed juices for friends and family when she wasn’t working at her full-time job. It became her passion and she decided to pursue it, quitting her job and signing a lease on a space in South Minneapolis. Pierson opened The Dripping Root last week at the intersection of Minnehaha Ave & 40th St. She sold out every single day. Her top-seller is the Nipsey Drip which is made up of passion fruit, guava, lemon, pineapple, Blue Majik and apple.

Pierson eventually quit her job to pursue her new passion, signing a lease on a space in south Minneapolis right before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since opening, she has sold out every single day.

Pierson told FOX 9 she is overwhelmed by the support of community members and other local small business owners who have been flooding The Dripping Root’s Instagram account with well wishes and offers of support as she vows to reopen bigger and better on Saturday.

"There’s just so much love surrounding me," Pierson said. "For such a hateful thing to happen and for people to reach out and wanting to do something super nice means so much to me."