Downtown Jamba Juice closing

Downtown Colorado Springs suffered another loss today as Jamba Juice, 15 E. Bijou St., was set to close its doors for good at 7 p.m. The downtown smoothie and juice shop opened 10 years ago as Zuka Juice.

“It’s our last day,” said franchise owner Dean Patzel. “Kind of a sad finish to 10 years.”

Patzel and his wife, Diane, own three other Jamba Juice stores in the Springs. They’re staying open, he said.

The downtown location was not an underperformer, he said. In fact, business has been up, possibly because of the closings in recent months of Michelle’s and Cold Stone Creamery downtown. But the shop was at an age that it needed a face-lift, he said, and corporate wanted a site with higher volume and more exposure.

“I agree with them,” Patzel said. “We’re excited about growth and we’d like to pursue opening a few more stores in town. This is kind of the first step in that whole process.”