Heal a Child, Heal a Community
A decade ago, Taj Pearsall was a sickly child when he inspired his parents, JoAnne and Maanaan Sabir, to set themselves on the path toward a new business of healthy juicing. Taj has a rare genetic disorder known as ectodermal dysplasia, and one winter he was plagued by a severe bout of pneumonia. He’d been prescribed multiple courses of antibiotics and was not taking well to them, nor did it seem to alleviate his condition.
Maanaan, who had come from a long line of herbalists, set out to research what could help Taj. He nvested in a juicer and discovered in his reading and research that watermelon is an expectorant, a natural medicine used to treat coughing. He juiced it with some apples and miraculously, Taj expelled everything that was clogging him up and keeping him miserable. Within hours, he was feeling much relief and was out playing with his friends.
The juicing continued to improve Taj’s health, and even his older sister, Ameera, began to experiment with juices to find her favorite concoction. Some years after, while the family was juicing in the kitchen, Taj playfully proclaimed, “This is a business…this is the juice kitchen!” That sparked JoAnne and Maanaan to take his prophetic statement and make it a reality. The natural goodness that was healing Taj was symbolic of what they could do for others. Maanaan came from a family of natural healers who originated from the South. Their philosophy was to share their remedies with their community and to heal whomever they could, “So we could move forward together. We needed everyone to feel better to do better.”
And so in the years since Taj breathed life into the idea of, “The Juice Kitchen,” the Sabirs have built that mindset into a thriving juicery at the Wellness Commons, involving their community of Lindsay Heights and engendering stability and hope through growing a viable business. Even employees and managers are involved in developing new taste profiles and recipes. In turn, they are very engaged in communicating with their clientele and experience ‘ownership’ of their products and company.
In 2018, JoAnne and architect/developer Julie Kaufmann transformed the burned-out BMO Harris Bank branch in Sherman Park into a wellness hub for the community, dubbed The Sherman Phoenix. The Sabirs put their Shindig Café there, along with a dozen other businesses.
The Juice Kitchen is a place of wellness where people come for more than just juice. “We don’t tout the healing as much as the engagement,” even though each one of their juices (with enticing names like Purple Haze, Pro-Teen and Real Bucks) gets ringing endorsements from its users for healing their ailments. “Food is a conversation,” Maanaan emphasizes, “the more you know about someone and their lives, the more you can help them.”
Ironically, as I spoke with Maanaan in mid-July, he was grimacing through a torn Achilles tendon. I asked him what he was doing to heal himself. “Irish Sea Moss,” he said, without hesitation, as the occidental meds he was prescribed were not sitting well with him. “It’s a famous Jamaican recipe passed down to me that has the highest amount of minerals available naturally. It’s a seaweed that is bloomed, chopped and blended into a gel, and I add it to my food.” It might sound like a miracle, yet faith and a positive attitude are undeniably intrinsic to healing and recovery, aided by sensible rest and a knee scooter.
Though couch-bound for more time than he prefers, Maanaan’s mind is already bounding with future plans. He is currently working with a mentor, Paul Miller of Colectivo Coffee, to continue exploring his potential. “It’s an interesting transition meshing coffee and fruit,” Maanaan says, “I really like the science behind liquids; I’d like to explore wholesaling juices and getting into the coffee market.” When he and JoAnne first met, they had the mutual goal of, “Being able to open different avenues for prosperity in the community. We wanted to have strong real estate behind our name,”—and the name of the community. JoAnne and Maanaan’s ambition, vision and plan was always to, “Make sure employees become owners of brand. Our goal was always to support the community, to spread the wealth and knowledge around. We would love nothing better than to do that by this December. We could stay on as advisors and tech consultants. And we ourselves will go on to do something else.” That something else includes, “More school, more learning” for the both of them, and yes—a little Sabir on the way within the year.
The miracle of what the Sabirs have done goes well beyond a cleanse, from the healing of their son to the sustainable healing and growth of their community. Their intent is as pure as the nutrients in their natural juices, and their vision is inspiring. The goodness in their hearts matches every drop of healing juice that flows from their juicery and café, a gift for the whole community to drink in, as we all watch the restorative and reinvigorating ventures that radiate from this family.
1617 W North Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53205
