The Smoothie King at 100 York Road, one of the most conveniently located stores to AFS, is officially permanently closed.
There has been no reason made public for the sudden closure, nor an actual date released for when the store officially closed. While the information on the internet regarding the closure is vague, many pages support the fact that it is no longer open: Smoothie King’s Google Maps, Facebook, and Mapquest pages all state that the location is permanently closed.
While there is no apparent cause for this specific closure, according to a Restaurant Business article, many large chain restaurants have closed a significant number of locations for many reasons in the past year.
The most popular reasons included mass closing of “underperforming” locations to make the brand look better, and overall loss of money. However, according to an article on PR Newswire, Smoothie King does not seem to be closing many stores at all, with plans to open over 90 new locations in 2026.
Students around AFS have a variety of different opinions about the closure, ranging from indifferent or sad to even happy. An important factor that affected many students’ opinions was the opening of Blendery, a new smoothie shop located near the old Smoothie King and a short walk away from AFS, recently reviewed in the Blue and White.
When asked her opinion on the Smoothie King closure, Keira Gelbaugh ‘30 said,
“I think it closed because of the horrible service and quality. They put themselves in a horrible spot right next to Giant in a little corner. The only reason they got any customers is because people here just wanted a drink.”
Apparently, online reviewers agreed with Gelbaugh. In terms of ratings, the Smoothie King at 100 York Road had a Yelp review of 2 stars and a Google review of 3.3 stars.
However, many other students had differing views from Gelbaugh.
Fia Capone ‘29 said, “I’m sad about it because I used to go there every Friday with my mom and now I can’t go. Blendery is okay, but I miss Smoothie King.”
Another student who shared the same perspective on the topic as Capone was Serena Lemos-Stein ‘31, who said “I am really sad because I really liked their smoothies… If I had a bad day I would have a smoothie and it would make me so happy!”
Addison Avant ‘28 said, “As overcharged as they were, their smoothies to me were honestly better than Blendery. Blendery tastes too organic. Smoothie King has this athletic artificial taste. It brings nostalgia back to my 7th grade track season.”
Josh Myahwegi ‘29 said “I feel sad that it is closing, and I will miss it.”
Calysta Salas ‘27 said “I’m very upset but I think they need to put something better there, like a Mr. Softee’s or a Rita’s.”
Kate Timmer ‘27 said, “I am disappointed of course, but I know that Blendery is there as a backup option… I haven’t had it yet but I’ve heard that it’s good!”
Rashan Boyd ‘29 said “Blendery is better.”
A group of AFS seniors responded in conversation with different opinions.
Percy Kent ‘26 said, “ I feel that this was a staple of the community, and while I am excited to see the direction that Blendery goes in, I feel like Smoothie King was a core fundamental of my AFS experience and without it Jenkintown will just fall into ruin. I feel like Blendery is frankly too contemporary, too modern, and too trendy, to be a staple that Jenkintown needs.”
In response to Kent, Josephine Zemsky ‘26 said, “Percy, I’ve seen you go to Blendery at least five times, I’ve never seen you go to Smoothie King.”
After this, Ash Cohen ‘26 said, “Personally, I never really went to Smoothie King because I didn’t find any options that I actually wanted. At Blendery, all of their smoothies are dairy free and as someone who does not eat a lot of dairy I really appreciated that because then I can easily get things off the menu. They also taste really good, and you can get a 32oz smoothie for like $10, so I think that’s a deal.”
In response to Cohen, Kent said, “Are we choosing deals over tradition? Are we choosing modernity over tradition and core values that make our community thrive?”
Replying to Kent, Zemsky said, “In this economy, yes.”
Nicole Hood • Jun 2, 2026 at 8:45 am
I absolutely adore this article as both commentary and a glimpse into AFS student culture and debate. Also, highly entertaining! Well done!
Ash Cohen • May 4, 2026 at 11:39 am
This is peak journalism. #blenderyforever
grace johnson • May 4, 2026 at 9:54 am
This article was not just interesting, but it told an awesome story of the opposing views of students at AFS. Personally, I’m glad that Smoothie King closed, as their smoothies were overpriced and too sweet. However, it was refreshing to see other people’s point of view, especially as a lot of them had accepted Smoothie King as a staple of Jenkintown, so to them it seemed emptier without it. I think that, as you noted they closed extremely abruptly, with no actual announcement, and I think that the quick closure added to the mixed feelings about it. This is a really well written article and I think that you did a great job.
Justin Solonynka • May 1, 2026 at 6:06 pm
This article started out good, but kept getting better, all the way to the trenchant economic point at the very end. This made my week. Thank you.
Anjali Tremblay • May 1, 2026 at 4:58 pm
This is one of the most impactful articles I’ve ever read on the newspaper. Glad to see that the B&W is thriving 🙂 and such important perspectives