Canton’s Encore Smoothie Bar owners exude high-energy vibe
If Bobby and Rachel Hillier’s lives were smoothies, the key ingredients would include love, hustle and community involvement (oh, and a spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough).
The Hilliers are the husband-and-wife owners of Encore Smoothie Bar, a six-year-old Canton business that is thriving in a competitive industry.
The Hilliers — Bobby is from Ohio, Rachel is a former resident of California, but attended high school at Livonia Churchill — met at (where else?) a national meeting for Herbalife, whose health-focused products Encore sells.
“Rachel and I used to be top producers in our organization, so any time I’d see her at a seminar or event, I’d ask her, ‘What are you doing that’s working in Michigan’,” Bobby said. “And she’d ask me, ‘What are you doing that’s working in Cleveland?’. We’d bounce ideas off one another.
“When I became single and she became single, she invited me to a worship concert at Elevation Worship. I said ‘Yes’, and from that day on, I was like, ‘That’s going to be my wife!’.”
(To check out a short video featuring Encore, click here.)
Merging talents
Considering Encore was already established in southeast Michigan (along with several of the business’s sister locations), Bobby decided it would be best if he relocated closer to his future wife as opposed to vice versa.
Introducing its business on social media platforms as “a nutrition club that serves healthy smoothies, teas, aloes, snacks, and more!”, the Hilliers launched Encore in the shopping complex located on the northwest corner of Warren and Canton Center roads.
With their business tucked away in a corner of the strip, people expressed doubts about whether Encore would thrive given its low-visibility location.
“They told us nobody had ever made it here in this little corner spot,” Rachel said.
“But we knew we were right down the road from the (Canton, Salem and Plymouth) high schools, so we figured if we could be trendy and cool with the high school students, we’d do OK.”
Hard work pays off
“We knew if we really promoted it and put the work in, everything would take care of itself, and it has,” Bobby added.
The Hilliers agreed that a good portion of their success has been their high-level engagement with their customers — first-time or long-time consumers.
“If you walk into, let’s say, a Starbucks, you usually pick up your order and leave,” Bobby said. “We like to talk to our customers, ask them how their day is going.
Connection with staff
“Even though we don’t serve alcohol, you wouldn’t believe how many people will come in, sit down with their tea or shake and have conversation with our employees. We love building relationships.”
The Hilliers go out of their way to connect with the community.
Encore is involved in a variety of community fundraisers.
It also offers free energy tea drops to workplaces, including schools, that are nominated by employees or customers of the businesses.
Encore offers over 80 flavors of smoothies and more than 20 energy drinks.
Among the top-selling smoothie flavors are Oreo, chocolate chip and lemon pound cake, Bobby said.
Mix those flavors in with some love and a lot of community involvement and it’s not hard to see why Encore is a booming success — low-visibility space or not.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
Buying or selling a home this year? Working with our real estate company, Social House Group, helps us bring you more good news. If you’re considering a move, schedule an appointment with Erik Wright today by calling or texting him at (734) 620-4736. We’d love to help you with your next move!