{"id":359104,"date":"2026-07-31T18:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T18:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359104\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T18:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T18:04:14","slug":"from-health-scare-to-juice-business-a-miami-success-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359104\/","title":{"rendered":"From health scare to juice business: a Miami success story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carol City painter Michael Wilcher walked into JuiceDefined, an Opa-locka juice bar, as if he grew up there. In his hands were two jars for fresh juices that were being made.<\/p>\n

Fathiyyah \u201cTia\u201d Doster, JuiceDefined\u2019s owner, spoke to her customer as a friend. She caught up with him and asked how he was doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like you are coming to someone\u2019s house,\u201d said Doster, 42. \u201cNobody\u2019s a stranger here.\u201d<\/p>\n

JuiceDefined has grown from Doster\u2019s quest for wellness into a full-scale business.<\/p>\n

Drinks that were served in mason jars for $8 in 2013 from her home are now $14, and her business boasts fresh fruits and vegetables as ingredients. Doster also offers a membership package for $100 a month that gives customers either 12 juices in 16-ounce bottles, or four half gallons of juice.<\/p>\n

Customers will also get a 20% discount towards a smoothie. Doster estimates that her business completes about 100 juice orders a week.<\/p>\n

\"JuiceDefined JuiceDefined interns Imani White, 17, left, and Darin Green, 17, right, help out in the Opa-locka kitchen on Thursday, July 30, 2026, in downtown Opa-locka. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com Working for wellness \"Fresh Fresh ingredients such as carrots are essential to the success of JuiceDefined, a juice bar in downtown Opa-locka, Thursday, July 30, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Doster\u2019s aunt, Mae Mike, works with her at JuiceDefined and four interns help the two run the business. Doster is a Carol City native who transferred from Miami Carol City Senior High School to the School For Advanced Studies\u2019 joint enrollment program with Miami-Dade College at the college\u2019s Wolfson campus in downtown Miami.<\/p>\n

In 2002, Doster graduated with her high school diploma from the School For Advanced Studies. She moved to Tampa to get her bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology from the University of South Florida in 2005 and earned her master\u2019s degree in mental health counseling from Springfield College in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

With two degrees, Doster began a career in social services as a case manager for people dealing with mental illnesses. She pivoted into working with people fighting substance abuse.<\/p>\n

As Doster\u2019s career progressed, she managed programs throughout South Florida, from Palm Beach to Liberty City. The experience taught her about management, organization and budgeting. While her life seemed to be in a good place, nothing could prepare her for what happened next.<\/p>\n

In 2010, Doster was pregnant with her daughter, Ayah, and experienced the biggest health scare of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 37 weeks pregnant, when I had this severe, acute onset of preeclampsia,\u201d she said. \u201cMy blood pressure just skyrocketed one day out of the blue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doster had a seizure and multi-organ failure that kept her in the hospital four months after her daughter was born. Doster considers the experience to be the catalyst for her physical health and wellness journey.<\/p>\n

Moving back home near family members in Miami made it easier for Doster to help take care of her daughter and showed Doster how few healthy food options were available in the community in which she grew up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I wanted to go and buy cold-pressed juices, I had to go to downtown Miami at that time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Taking a chance \"Intern Intern Teresa Washington, left, records a video as JuiceDefined owner Fathiyyah \u201cTia\u201d Doster, intern Darin Green, and Mae Mike, right, prepare a large order, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in downtown Opa-locka, Fla. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

By 2011, Doster was on dialysis and dealing with depression. Searching for solutions to her health problems introduced her to juicing and eating healthier foods.<\/p>\n

Doster posted about her dialysis sessions and the juices she made to Facebook. Family and friends quickly responded. People on Facebook began asking Doster questions about juicing and if she could make bottles of juice for them to drink.<\/p>\n

She began packaging some of the juices she made in mason jars and sold each jar for $8 from her home business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at a turning point where either you really engage the people and you sell it because people want it, or you continue on with it as a hobby and just keep sharing your story,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To cover the costs of starting her business, Doster used all of her savings, sold an investment property and got money from family members.<\/p>\n

By 2020, the demand for Doster\u2019s juices grew so much that she had to find a storefront.<\/p>\n

She leased her current Opa-locka storefront at 854 Ali Baba Ave. and opened her business a year later in 2021. She waited to open her business because she got a long-awaited call for a kidney transplant.<\/p>\n

The pandemic marked a shift in business because the new storefront was busy with customers looking for natural remedies to fight COVID-19. Drinks were available in sizes as large as half gallons.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would order five and six of them just to keep in their house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Setting the bar \"Inventory Inventory specialist Mae Mike, left, and her niece, Fathiyyah \u201cTia\u201d Doster, right, owner of JuiceDefined, are photographed with natural juices at their Opa-locka juice bar, Thursday, July 30, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

One former Carol City High classmate loved Doster\u2019s products and didn\u2019t realize that she was the person behind them.<\/p>\n

Former University of Miami football player and NFL champion Sinorice Moss became familiar with Doster\u2019s juices during the pandemic. He is an actor and spends time going back and forth from Miami to California. During one trip home to Miami, he tried a JuiceDefined blend \u2014 and was an instant fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuicing has benefited so many people,\u201d said Moss, 42. \u201cI think people are starting to care about how they feel, look and the longevity of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boosting Opa-locka business \"Customer Customer Michael Witcher chats with Fathiyyah \u201cTia\u201d Doster, owner of JuiceDefined, as he makes his regular purchase of pressed juice at her Opa-locka juice bar, Thursday, July 30, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Doster considers her business to be a part of Opa-locka\u2019s resurgence, and she has become a community advocate for increased commerce.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s the only Black-owned juice store in the city of Opa-locka,\u201d said Mayor John Taylor. \u201cShe helps to promote health and wellness in Opa-locka. It\u2019s not something that is pushed in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor, 37, is a big supporter of Doster\u2019s business because she exemplifies what a private-public partnership can look like.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe set the bar,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have small businesses in communities, and she\u2019s not only in the community but gives back. She\u2019s the ideal community partner. When you call her, she\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fathiyyah Fathiyyah \u201cTia\u201d Doster, owner of JuiceDefined, stands at the front door of her Opa-locka juice bar, Thursday, July 30, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Butler<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Michael Butler writes about minority business and trends that affect marginalized professionals in South Florida. As a business reporter for the Miami Herald, he tells inclusive stories that reflect South Florida\u2019s diversity. Just like Miami\u2019s diverse population, Butler, a Temple University graduate, has both local roots and a Panamanian heritage.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carol City painter Michael Wilcher walked into JuiceDefined, an Opa-locka juice bar, as if he grew up there.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-359104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}