NutriSport & Smoothie brings quick, convenient options to healthy food scene with Iowa City opening

IOWA CITY — Eating healthy, especially while dining out, can be difficult. But it doesn’t have to be.

Staying hydrated, fitting in all the macronutrients, fueling the body and staying fit can be time consuming, confusing and pricey. But with her expansion to Iowa City, Marion’s NutriSport & Smoothie owner Julie Carfagna hopes to make it more accessible.

Her second location, opening this month, makes good on her vision to help others even more at the intersection of students, medical professionals, athletes and busy people trying to get the most out of life.

“Trying to provide a healthy option and educate at the same time is key to me,” Carfagna said. “It complements who is down here.”

A soft opening is tentatively scheduled for July 16.

New growth

The move for NutriSport is the first since Carfagna took over the Marion location in 2022. The brand has had a presence in Marion since about 2012.

Other former NutriSport & Smoothie locations in Cedar Rapids, owned separately, have since re-branded under a different name.

The CBR wrap at NutriSport and Smoothie in Iowa City, Iowa on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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The Baja bowl at NutriSport and Smoothie in Iowa City, Iowa on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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The rocket pop protein smoothie, push pop protein smoothie and peanut butter chocolate blaster protein smoothie at NutriSport and Smoothie in Iowa City, Iowa on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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“Sometimes I call us a restaurant, sometimes I call us a store,” Carfagna said. “We’re unique in the sense that we have a retail store in half our square footage with brands, vitamins and a plethora of supplements.”

About 60 percent of her Marion location’s sales are smoothies and fresh-made items from the menu. Now, with a new space about 50 percent larger in Iowa City, she hopes to reach busy students, athletes, patients and medical professionals at the University of Iowa.

NutriSport likes to partner with police and fire departments on the latest supplement challenge trending on TikTok. Carfagna gets fulfillment from helping cancer patients find nutritious food they can keep down while going through treatment.

The Iowa City location, located near world class oncology care, opens up accessible nutrition for those on difficult journeys.

“We have so many stories of patients going through treatment. They can’t keep anything down, they have no nutritional value in their bodies,” Carfagna said. “They can sip a smoothie, get nutrients in and stay healthy during treatment. To see those success stories is moving beyond words.”

But that same mission reaches everyone. Before the pandemic, Carfagna, a former human resources professional, remembers how intimidating it was to figure out how to take care of her body.

Losing four relatives and friends to COVID-19 was her wake-up call to live a more intentional life. Now, running two locations with her sons, Ryan and Zachary, their NutriSport stores are doing more legwork to make it easier for others.

“I was horrible about eating and hydrating and taking care of my body. (NutriSport) was a lifesaver for me,” Carfagna said. “How can I give back to the mom pushing a stroller to take her kids to the splash pad?”

What’s inside

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A 3,300 square-foot store with mall and exterior entrances includes a large supplement area and a Refuel Zone with options for hydration, energy and protein.

Grab and go selections offer quick but nutritious options like protein balls and ready-made meals to make it easier to stay healthy with a busy lifestyle. Carfagna’s meal prep offerings, after much success in Marion, will be offered in Iowa City.

Customers can get healthy breakfasts, for example, through overnight oats, baked goods, muffins and waffles that focus more on protein than carbs.

A large menu with dozens of smoothie options, all made with real fruit and no added sugar, offers a drink for any taste. Fruit-flavored and protein smoothies come in fun flavors like Starburst, Push Pop or Sour Patch, and Green smoothies offer a tasty way to get veggies in.

Add one of 27 boosters to supplement your diet with anything from acai’s “superfood” antioxidants to anti-inflammatory spirulina.

“Everything menu-wise correlates and ties to nutrition — making sure we’re getting our daily quotas for proteins, greens, vegetables, that sort of thing,” she said. “I try to carry things that aren’t in big box stores.”

Breakfast options include protein-based bowls with bacon, turkey sausage and eggs. For lunch, chicken and steak are available in about 10 varieties of tortilla wraps, rice bowls or salads — from Baja and Buffalo to Caesar and Cordon Bleu.

“Healthy doesn’t have to taste bland or yucky, ”Carfagna said.

Enjoy it all in the store’s seating area, or take it to go. A pickup window may be available for late night orders as the business grows.

The new location will eventually have trainers on site, with hopes for a nutritionist as well to help customers navigate a gamut of supplements and achieve the results they need.

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No matter the route, Carfagna hopes to take the fear and intimidation out of eating healthy.

“It seems intimidating because there’s so many brands, so many options,” she said. “We can’t deplete our bodies to the point where we’re physically or mentally not healthy.”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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