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Smoothie King celebrated the opening of its Wappingers Falls location at 1571 Route 9 in Wappingers Falls Monday, the 900th Smoothie King and the first in Dutchess County.
Bob Viani, who lives in Pleasant Valley, owns the store, having previously owned 17 Planet Fitnesses in the Hudson Valley before selling the stores last November. Viani's two children, Dan and Rachel are helping him run the store.
Smoothie King is for people who people who aim to live a healthy different lifestyle, offering different smoothie combinations for those looking to gain or lose weight, or just eat better.
The company, headquartered in New Orleans, has been expanding throughout the East Coast. Smoothie King Chief Development Officer Kevin King said they excited to have Wappingers Falls be the 900th location.
"It's a huge milestone for us," King said. "We're in a great city and we have a great owner."
Viani said he wanted to give the community a healthy place to get a great meal.
"This fills a health niche that is lacking," Viani said. "It's good and better than fast food. This is centrally located in Dutchess- everyone is going to come here at one point."
Having previously operated a Planet Fitness, Viani knows how important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
"Their vision and mission statement really aligned with what I believe in," Viani said. "This wasn't a far stretch for me. Whatever your goal is, we can accomplish it."
Viani said he is pumped to finally be open and for people to start trying their smoothies.
"Smoothie King is not an occasional treat," Viani said. "People will be coming here one to three times a week, some people will come daily. We're part of their meal plan."
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