The new Jamba Juice in the University Union has opened with a positive response from the student body.

“I think we’re doing pretty good, we’re happy with how it’s turned out,” Todd Broadland, owner of the Jamba Juice franchise as well as the Union’s Burger King, said.

The doors had stated that business would start in summer 2009 and the store opened a week before the beginning of the fall semester. “Our goal was to open before school and we made it,” Broadland said.

Having a more healthy option on campus has made the new Jamba Juice a destination for some students. “I’d rather have a smoothie than something fattening,” Jody Westover, senior international business major, said.

The snacks offered are also focused on being healthy. The potato chips are unfried, unbaked and contain no cholesterol, saturated and trans fat. Organic juice and milk are available in multiple flavors along with energy bars.

Like the other stores in the Union, Jamba Juice has its longest lines between 11 a.m. and noon and between 2 and 3 p.m.

On the first day of school there were only two customers from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. “Late night has been very slow,” Broadland said.

The prices are the same at other locations around town. As a franchise owner Broadland could have set his own prices but chose to match those of other Sacramento locations.

For some students the best thing about the Union Jamba Juice is the location. “I don’t have to leave campus to get it,” Noelle Donarico, junior psychology major, said.

The menu is smaller than other Jamba Juice locations but that is scheduled to change later this month. On Sept. 14 the menu will expand to include salads, wraps and sandwiches. Vegan products are also planned for a later date.

Mitchell Wilson can be reached at [email protected].