Since opening Bani’s Beets in 2018, owner Auriel Banister has experienced both the highs and lows that come with running a small business on Chicago’s South Side.
The Beverly-based organic cold-pressed juicery, located near 103rd Street and Hale Avenue, has received national media attention, worked with Chicago sports teams, and built a loyal customer base. But recognition does not always translate into consistent sales.
“Consistency with foot traffic is tough,” Banister said. “People are evaluating if the products are a must-have. They’re trying to determine if they need it as much as they want it.”
For Banister, part of the challenge is that Bani’s Beets is selling something that does not always fit with what consumers have been conditioned to expect.
“Make it fast and taste good,” Banister said, describing what many consumers look for when deciding what to eat. “How can we get it the fastest and the cheapest? That is not a thing as it pertains to your health.”
Bani’s Beets focuses on organic, nutrient-dense juices designed to support healthier lifestyles and help customers manage chronic health conditions.
But Banister knows she is competing with more than other juice businesses. Fast food, packaged snacks and sugary drinks are often inexpensive, widely available and designed around convenience.
“Convenience can be a killer,” Banister said.
She sees that tension play out when customers decide whether a fresh juice is something they need or something they can skip.
“People see our juice as a luxury, not a necessity,” Banister said. “They don’t always realize the long-term impact of what they’re consuming.”
There is also the reality of stress. When people are overwhelmed, Banister said, healthier food may not be what they immediately reach for.
“We are not a sugar-based business, so people are not as excited to have our product,” she said. “With the stress people are under, they may prefer a sugary situation to cope.”
Banister does not believe the answer is judging people for those choices.
“We have to meet people where they are and not judge them,” she said.
She understands how difficult changing eating habits can be, particularly when sugar and highly processed foods have been part of someone’s diet for years.
“We’ve all struggled with sugar at some point and had to unlearn that because it catches up with us at some point,” Banister said.
For some people, she said, the motivation to change comes when they begin noticing how their everyday choices make them feel.
More people are beginning to ask themselves whether they can continue eating the same way when they experience problems such as stomach discomfort, low energy or changes in their mood, Banister said.
That realization is part of what keeps her committed to Bani’s Beets.
Running a health-focused business can be difficult when customers are under financial pressure and cheaper alternatives are everywhere.
Banister said she has had to remind herself not to let those pressures change why she started the company.
“I have to keep my eyes on the prize about my why and not allow the pressure of the world to impact that in a negative way,” she said.
Her mission is rooted in the belief that people deserve access to healthier choices before health problems force them to make changes.
But maintaining that mission while keeping the business financially sustainable is difficult.
“Just figuring out how to support people where they are is challenging, and it shows up in our numbers,” Banister said.
That challenge has become even greater as the cost of operating a food business has increased.
Food businesses across the country continue to face higher ingredient, labor, and operating costs than they did before the pandemic. For smaller businesses without the purchasing power of national chains, those increases can be particularly difficult to absorb.
For Bani’s Beets, higher costs create a balancing act. The business has to charge enough to cover the cost of fresh, organic ingredients and other expenses without pricing out the customers Banister wants to serve.
The challenge becomes even greater when consumers are comparing the cost of a fresh juice with cheaper fast-food and snack options.
Bani’s Beets is also still dealing with debt taken on to survive the pandemic.
Like many small business owners, Banister borrowed money to keep the business operating when normal business activity was disrupted. Those loan payments continue to cut into profitability.
“Every single day, I have to pay nearly $200 just to cover loan repayments,” Banister said. “That’s before even considering rent, staff wages and the cost of ingredients.”
She initially believed the disruption caused by the pandemic would eventually end and business would return to something more predictable.
“We thought things were going to go back to normal, and that just never happened,” Banister said. “We don’t know what to expect anymore.”
Years later, she is still trying to navigate that uncertainty while rebuilding the financial health of the business.
Building Community Beyond Juice
Despite those challenges, Banister continues finding creative ways to bring people together and ensure Bani’s Beets remains an active part of the community.
Over the years, Bani’s Beets has hosted free community events, wellness experiences, workout classes, HealthTalks and Mic’d Up Mondays. The gatherings created opportunities for people to connect around health, music, culture and conversation while also giving local artists a place to perform.
That community-building work eventually helped give rise to kōzē, an intimate live music and cultural experience led by Banister and powered by Privít.
Born from the spirit of Mic’d Up Mondays and HealthTalks, kōzē expands on what Banister had already been creating inside Bani’s Beets by bringing music, culture, conversation and connection together in one experience.
What Happens If Small Businesses on the South Side Disappear?
For Banister, the future of businesses like Bani’s Beets is about more than entrepreneurship.
She worries about what communities could lose if independent food businesses cannot survive periods of rising costs and inconsistent consumer spending.
“I’m hoping businesses like mine will be able to surpass these moments, or else we will just have large chains controlling the availability of food,” Banister said.
Large chains can often offer lower prices and greater convenience. But Banister believes those short-term savings can come with longer-term consequences if communities lose businesses offering healthier alternatives.
“It seems like a good deal now because it’s cheaper,” she said.
Banister also points to other parts of Chicago where independent businesses have a stronger presence because residents consistently choose to support them.
“In other communities on the North Side, there are more mom-and-pops because they are demanding that,” she said.
She wants to see the same level of support for businesses on the South Side.
“We have to support our own businesses the way we support Starbucks,” Banister said. “Imagine if people bought gift cards from small businesses like they do for major corporations. That could be a game-changer.”
Eight years after opening Bani’s Beets, Banister is still navigating rising costs, pandemic-era debt, changing consumer habits and the unpredictability of running a small business.
But she continues coming back to the reason she started.
For Banister, the goal is not to convince everyone to change overnight. It is to meet people where they are, make healthier choices more accessible and keep a locally owned alternative available for people who are ready to make those changes.
That is why, despite the pressures surrounding the business, Bani’s Beets is still betting on health on Chicago’s South Side.
