Jamba Juice coming to downtown Franklin

Town’s End General Store on Franklin’s historic Main Street is set to close and reopen as a Jamba Juice this spring, shop owner Cynthia Townsend said Tuesday.

The new location will be Townsend’s third Jamba Juice, one of about 900 worldwide, she said. She opened a Nashville location in 2013 and a Cool Springs location last year.

Townsend said the decision to close the store — which she had hoped would be a natural fit in Franklin’s charming old-fashioned core — was a tough one.

“I’ve been tossing and turning about this for over a year,” she said. “I’m closing it to give me more time for the more important things in life.”

With her children, and now grandchildren, living in the area, she said she plans to spend more time with them and to focus more on her design work.

She has said that memories of visiting the local general store with her grandparents sparked the idea for the store. In 2011, she opened her own version of the tradition, stocked with an eclectic mix of local artisan-made gifts and antiques.

“It’s real nostalgic,” Townsend said of the store.

Townsend said she’d been looking for a space in downtown Franklin for a Jamba Juice since before she and her son-in-law opened the state’s first location of the smoothie and health snack franchise.

A spot never became available, though, and transforming the general store emerged as the best solution.

“I just decided that now is the time to change my store,” she said. “It’s the perfect location, it’s very visible, and the size is perfect.”

Townsend added that she envisions shoppers grabbing a smoothie before strolling through downtown.

The general store is still open, with discounted merchandise for sale through the first week of February. On Feb. 6, the store will host a silent auction as part of the Franklin Art Scene. The silent auction will continue through Sunday, Feb. 8, Townsend said.

The proceeds from the auction will benefit the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, as well as Williamson County Court Appointed Special Advocates.

Townsend said construction is set to start on Feb. 14.

Reach Jill Cowan at 615-644-2150 and on Twitter @jillcowan.