Smoothie King in Marquette has been closed for about three weeks now, and man, I want a smoothie. Since I was a kid, I’ve been getting smoothies from the Presque Isle Avenue location. I remember being a kid and ordering The Hulk. My mom was not happy, saying that I’d spoil my dinner since it was intended to replace a meal. I didn’t care—I just wanted to be strong like the Hulk.
Then when I started hitting the gym at the PEIF, trying to build a strong figure, I would get the same. When they closed, I was a little shocked and really craving a smoothie at the time. I was even more shocked when I found out that Temaki and Tea was staying open, just moving locations.
Now Smoothie King joins Melted in the group of closed food stops on campus. NMU is growing in student population year after year, so much so that they are planning to build an apartment on the old location of Smoothie King and Temaki. Yet, campus has closed another campus business, leading to less accessible jobs for students. And it’s not like people don’t want a smoothie. At least, I really want a smoothie.
I guess sacrifices have to be made for growth. If we need more living spaces on campus, we need to lose our smoothies. It is more than a fair trade. I would much prefer students and faculty to be able to stay on campus than have smoothies. I still wonder if there is a world where campus could get both. We could move the Smoothie King location to the old Smelted, keep campus jobs and still get our apartments? Because man, I really want a smoothie.