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Livermore business owner Sunny Koo greeted patrons and community leaders with outstretched arms Monday to celebrate a triumphant year at her Robeks smoothie shop located downtown.
Robeks has been a First Street staple for the past 16 years, serving fruit juices and healthy bites, but its doors almost closed for good last year after Koo’s husband Hojay, who was originally the franchisee of the business, died unexpectedly.
“Right after he passed away, I had to come here to get something and when I walked in, the first thing I saw was his dirty apron. So right there I was like, I can’t do this. I didn’t think I could come back to work every single day and not think about him and how much he worked so hard for 15 years,” Koo told Livermore Vine.
“So I said, you know what? I’m going to sell this and walk away,” she added.
Once word got around that Koo was planning to close up shop, neighboring businesses, longtime customers and others in the community came together to encourage Koo to keep the store going. “All my friends, all the business owner neighbors and the community kept saying, ‘don’t give it up,'” she said, adding that they reminded her that the business is part of her husband’s legacy.
“It’s like a family,” Koo said of her supporters. “I’ve been seeing everyone like the high school sweethearts who come and have dates here and grab a smoothie, then they get married and have kids and they come back.”
Reflecting back on the many years of memories and embracing the motivation from others prompted Koo to decide to reopen after being closed for five months. “It was a journey but I did it,” she said.
She attended Robeks’ corporate training to learn all the aspects of the business and even started wearing Hojay’s reading glasses so he could be with her and help her see her way through the difficult times.
A year has gone by since Robeks’ reopening and during that time, in addition to learning about the business, Koo said she has had to learn some technical and mechanical skills in order to figure out how to fix aging machines and appliances that endured more than a decade of wear and tear.
“By the time a year has passed by, I’m like a handywoman,” Koo said with a laugh, adding that neighboring business owners and Google have helped her along the way.
To formally mark the one-year reopening, Koo and her team held a happy hour-style event on Monday, featuring samples of their Wailea Watermelon Mint smoothie and live music by singer Horatio Monroe. Mayor John Marchand and Livermore Downtown Inc. Executive Director Ruby Lopez-Villarreal each shared brief remarks, highlighting Koo’s resilience and bravery.
Additionally, Koo held a fundraiser for the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District as part of the celebration. From the entire day’s sales, 20% of the proceeds will be donated to the district.
Koo is now a single mother of two, with one child still attending school in Livermore. Throughout this difficult year, Koo said her son’s teachers and administrators were a tremendous help. The fundraiser, she said, is her way of saying thank you and giving back.
