What happens when a Division I athlete’s discipline meets a performer’s creative fire? You get BARVIDA. A juice bar that’s not just redefining wellness, but rebranding it entirely. Co-founded by Brennan Branca and Tara Rose Schreiber, this bold, moody, and unapologetically cool concept makes clean living feel indulgent, rebellious, and irresistible. With Brennan’s background in competitive sports, finance, and fitness and Tara’s theatrical flair, plant-based devotion, and instinct for design and culture, the duo has created more than a juice bar, they’ve built a high-energy lifestyle destination that feels as personal as it does elevated.
By the time you walk into BARVIDA, you already feel it.
The lighting is low. The energy is focused. The space hums with intention. It doesn’t feel like a juice bar, it feels like a scene. A mood. A ritual. And at the center of it all are Brennan Branca and Tara Rose Schreiber: partners in life, partners in business, and the minds behind one of Connecticut’s most cult-followed wellness concepts.
They didn’t start with a playbook. They started with a feeling.
“We were tired of walking into places that felt like compromises,” Brennan says. “I’d be analyzing ingredients and expiration dates of juices while Tara judged the emotional temperature of the room and wondered why a health spot felt so devoid of soul. That became our thesis.”
Tara finishes the thought the way only she can which is poetic, direct, and completely on-brand.
“We wanted to create a space that doesn’t compromise,” she says. “A place that fused West Coast wellness culture with East Coast edge. Something bold, indulgent, a little dark, a little sexy but still grounded in real health.”
What they built was BARVIDA: a juice bar, yes — but also a lifestyle space that makes clean living feel elevated, cinematic, and unapologetically cool.
And at its heart is contrast.
Brennan comes from Division I soccer at Columbia, a world defined by performance, repetition, and standards. Tara comes from a theater background, trained to feel, interpret, and read energy. Where he thinks in systems and outcomes, she thinks in atmosphere and intention.
“Brennan treats wellness like a love language and business like a sport,” Tara says. “He’s the backbone.”
“And Tara’s the heartbeat,” Brennan counters. “Everything about her is feeling and intention. BARVIDA is what happens when those two worlds collide.”
That collision is felt everywhere: in the menu, the colors, the lighting, the typography on the walls. It’s why BARVIDA doesn’t look like every other “clean” space. There’s humor. Darkness. A little edge. No testimonials slathered on white tile. No fluorescent lighting pretending to be enlightenment.
Since launching, the evolution has been intentional.
“The humor is louder. The design is bolder. The ingredients got smarter,” Brennan says. “We went from Googling juicing at 2AM to creating spaces that feel like the inside of the coolest, healthiest relationship.”
Even the physical spaces tell their story.
“The stores feel like little love letters along the way,” Tara says. “We still leave our mark on everything including painting the Greenwich bathroom trim ourselves late at night because the room needed to feel more alive.”
Because to them, everything matters.
BARVIDA didn’t happen in a vacuum.
It happened in Connecticut, a place Tara calls a “wellness hub.”
“People here know their adaptogens, their macro splits, and they want the best for themselves,” she explains. “They want flavor and function. They want something they can trust.”
It’s why their collaborations, like the Rhone Smoothie and their work with Doctor Katie in Darien, feel organic instead of promotional.
“They’re brands and people who live with the same level of intention we do,” Tara says. “That’s why the partnerships make sense.”
For Brennan, Connecticut is both a proving ground and a pressure cooker.
“When something hits here, everyone knows within 24 hours,” he says. “When it doesn’t, they also tell you immediately. That honesty keeps us sharp. The wellness community here pushes us to evolve in real time.”
There’s no coasting. No hiding behind trends.
Only adaptation.
At BARVIDA, aesthetics matter but only because function leads the way.
“Nothing is just there to look cute,” Tara says. “Even though they do look cute. Every smoothie is like a little life hack whether for stress, recovery, inflammation, focus, immunity. The goal is function and flavor. Always.”
Brennan’s go-to? Lion’s Mane.
“It supports brain health, boosts memory and focus, improves mood,” he says. “I add it to everything. We can all benefit from better mental clarity.”
Tara swears by ginger and ashwagandha.
“If I give you a smoothie recipe, there’s ginger in it,” she laughs. “And anything that keeps my cortisol in check is a win. Wellness should support you, not stress you out.”
It’s this balance: science + instinct that defines their menu.
Despite the aesthetics, their routines are refreshingly human.
They try not to touch their phones first thing and they admit they usually fail.
“There’s DND and ashwagandha for that,” Tara jokes.
Her ideal morning:
Room-temp lemon water.
BARVIDA celery juice.
Dog walk.
Ten minutes of journaling.
Pilates.
Then BARVIDA everything.
Brennan? Simpler.
“I can’t talk to anyone until I train. Tara included,” he says. “Movement keeps me sane. After that, it’s either the Rhone smoothie or the Matcha Machine. That’s recovery and fuel in a cup.”
Different styles. Same values.
Ask them about the future of wellness and their answers reflect their personalities perfectly.
Brennan focuses on function:
“People want clarity, focus, real energy, emotional steadiness. No more sugar bombs pretending to be ‘healthy.’ Brands that prioritize intentional blends will lead.”
Tara zooms out to the feeling:
“Wellness is becoming about emotion and atmosphere. People want ritual. They want a space that feels cinematic. They want community, not just a drink.”
In other words:
They want what BARVIDA already is.
Beyond Juice
For both of them, wellness doesn’t stop at what’s in the cup.
“Wellness touches every part of life,” Tara says. “You can’t feel good if your body’s great but your mind is scattered. Or vice versa. It’s movement. It’s breathwork. It’s journaling. It’s the occasional TikTok scroll. That’s balance. It’s showing up imperfectly.”
Brennan echoes the idea, but grounds it in action.
“Wellness is nourishing your body, challenging it, and giving your mind room to breathe. Movement is my meditation. Just figure out what grounds you and do more of that.”
What’s Next for BARVIDA?
They’ve just opened their third location on Greenwich Avenue. Westport is next. Beyond that, expansion outside Connecticut is already on the horizon but only if it feels right.
“We’re getting a lot of inquiries about expansion and investment,” Brennan says. “But if we do partner, it’ll be with people who care about soul, not just scale. Each space has to feel intentional. Never copy and paste.”
Tara agrees.
“Every new location has to fit seamlessly into the BARVIDA universe,” she says. “It has to feel like us not like growth for the sake of growth.”
Two People. One Vision.
In the end, BARVIDA isn’t really a juice bar.
It’s a reflection of a relationship and the discipline of one, the emotion of the other, and the space they created together.
“We built this out of instinct,” Brennan says. “No formal business backgrounds. Just passion. And a little insanity.”
“And a lot of love,” Tara adds. “For the people, the craft, the space, and each other.”
And you feel that the moment you step inside.
We were tired of walking into places that felt like compromises. That became our thesis. -Breenan
BARVIDA has grown with us. The stores feel like little love letters, because as we evolve, we leave our fingerprints on every corner, every detail, every moment. -Tara