nuVibe

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By JEFF KORBELIK / GZO

So how did Natalie Bubak celebrate her business’ 5-year anniversary?

By opening another location across town, proving that her idea for a smoothie/coffee place had some legs.

Bubak and partner Jenny Anderson recently opened the second nuVibe on 14th Street in downtown Lincoln, moving into the spot once inhabited by Erbert & Gerbert’s sandwiches and Java Zone coffee.

View Slideshow

Raspberry Tiramisu and Triple Dark Chocolate Gelato are two of the flavors served at NuVibe on N. 14th St. in Lincoln. (Jacob Hannah)

Bubak, who opened the first nuVibe with several other investors five years ago at 70th Street and Pioneers Boulevard, said she patiently waited until the time (and space) was right.

“We’ve had a lot of our customers ask us when we were coming downtown or further south,” said Bubak, who owns the downtown location with her husband, Chris, and partner Jenny Anderson.

The downtown spot proved to be ideal, especially since Erbert & Gerbert’s went to great expense in remodeling the first floor of the 104-year-old building when it replaced Homer’s.

Bubak and Anderson have tweaked the decor a bit, providing some new paint and furniture.  

Now, the nuVibe of today is far different from the first one that opened five years ago.

The shop has since added several more items to its menu, including 20 types of gelato and sorbetto, to go along with its core products of smoothies, specialty drinks and baked goods.

 Also available now are homemade soups and strombolilike sandwiches, giving diners an alternative for a light lunch or dinner.

nuVibe gets its gelato from Palazzolo’s in Michigan, and serves the cold, creamy treats in three sizes: two ($2.25), three ($3.25) and four ($4.25) scoops. Flavors include triple chocolate, spiced caramel apple and several fruit options. Servers will provide samples, which actually makes deciding more difficult because they are all very good.

The sandwiches and soups are prepared on site as are the baked goods.

Sandwiches cost $3.50 and feature one veggie and two meat selections. Favorites are eggplant parmesan, Italian, garden vegetable and chicken/broc-

coli/manchego cheese.

Soups are $2.95 (cup) and $3.95 (bowl) and change daily. Top sellers have been baked potato, black bean, chili and a beer brat chowder.

Of course, the business revolves around its smoothies and specialty coffees. nuVibe came to be after Bubak had a baby and was looking for healthy eating options.

“I didn’t want something with all the added sugar and corn syrup,” she said.

nuVibe smoothies boast 100 percent juice and pure fruit. The to-go menus feature calorie, carb, fat, fiber and protein counts. The smoothies cost $4.50 or $5 each.

I tried a Velvet Elvis, a 24-ounce “power” smoothie ($5), which included milk, peanut butter, banana, yogurt, oats, honey, Grapenuts and whey protein. It also had 893 calories, meaning I didn’t probably have to eat for the rest of day.

A day earlier, I dropped in with a co-worker for a gelato. I had two scoops of spiced caramel apple, a seasonal flavor. My co-worker went with a mixture of raspberry and vanilla. Not sure of the calorie count, but it had to be up there as well.

The gelato is an especially nice addition to the menu, offering a dessert option all day long.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.