A GI is an American soldier, but it’s also an abbreviation for the term gastrointestinal tract. Both have significance for Tiffany Pedone, who named her Buckingham restaurant GI Juice and Java.
“It’s a play on words,” said Pedone, who grew up with a military mother and has designed a menu that helps keep the intestinal tract healthy.
Her affiliation with the military goes beyond her childhood; her partner is her mother Sherry Carlin, who served in the Navy, the Pennsylvania National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve and is currently a government contractor in the aerospace industry.
“The military has always been a part of my life,” said Pedone.
Her commitment extends to the coffees and teas she serves; Black Rifle Coffee and Skirted Soldier teas are both veteran-owned companies.
For her healthy view on food, Pedone has designed a menu that includes no sugar, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, either juiced or in salads, on toasts, in acai bowls or in smoothies.
“Our mission is your health,” said Pedone.
Pedone and her husband ,Steve, were living in New York City when they decided to move back to Pennsylvania, her home state, with their two small sons. She saw a need for the kind of foods she was making at home. “We wanted to give people a healthy alternative,” she said.
She crafted a menu, tested it with family and friends, then found a location in Buckingham Green shopping center.
Since opening in September, it has been well received, she said, with customers coming for a variety of options including pressed green and fruit juices, cold brew and other coffees, raw overnight oats or hot oatmeal, bubble waffles, salads, and toasts with a choice of nut butters, avocado, honey, or a combination of peanut butter, banana and flax seeds.
Pedone’s smoothies have been a hit from the start. Like her juices, they contain no sweeteners or commercially processed juices. Favorites include Blueberry Majik with alkaline water, banana, blueberries, spinach, maca, bluegreen algae, hemp seeds and cashew butter. The Coffee Banana smoothie includes almond milk, ice cubes of her own coffee, banana, chia and hemp seeds and protein. The BrainOn MicroGreen smoothie includes bluegreen algae, almond milk, cashew butter, micro greens, pineapple and yogurt. Juice cleanses also are popular.
Pedone is developing a children’s menu, but in the meantime, her overnight raw oats is a big hit with the younger set along with the nut butter toasts made using butters from Nutty Novelties in Telford. She makes a point of patronizing local businesses whenever possible.
