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Sweet refreshment: Sugarcane juice attracts, refreshes many

By Staff | Dec 3, 2014

Kinglsey Cross

Kinglsey Cross of Lehigh says he has just the answer for someone who wants a really refreshing drink.

And folks walking by his juice stand in Lehigh Acres are drawn inside almost magically due to a sign out front that promotes sugarcane juice.

There are several tall stalks of sugarcane standing outside next to a sign with some of the raw stocks five and six feet high, just about matching the height of Cross who has been selling all kinds of juices and smoothies in addition to the popular sugarcane juice for a couple of years.

“If you haven’t had a small glass of sugarcane juice, you just haven’t lived,” laughed Cross who says he serves all kinds of juice and smoothies for only $3.

In addition to his juice stand that he calls Kingsley, The Juice Man, he also has for sale a wide assortment of Bob Marley T-shirts in addition to CDs and DVDs of his favorite entertainer.

MEL TOADVINE Sugar cane stalks cleaned in water.

Like Marley, Kinglsey Cross is from the Caribbean and Cross calls Jamaica his native home.

“Back there when we were kids, it was fun for the kids to break off a small chunk of sugar cane and chew it up and then spit out the skin. They grow sugar cane everywhere on the island. That is where his aging mother and father still live, well into their 80s and Cross says he goes back often to see them and his other relatives.

But America is his home and he enjoys working several jobs to make ends meet he says. He said he was divorced and taking care of himself and his responsibilities, he can do just about anything and he does, when he is not at the juice stand.

His business is at Unit B2 at the Lehigh Acres Flea Market just off Homestead Rd., next to the Lehigh Acres Citizen Senior Center and East District Substation of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

“When I am not here, I do landscaping, painting inside homes and offices, and a host of other things,” he laughed. “I’m a jack of all trades, I guess,” he said.

MEL TOADVINE Feeding sugar cane into juicer.

“I work to pay my bills and I don’t have to take handouts,” he laughed.

One of Kingsley’s best known deal at his juice stand is a barbecue chicken and jerk chicken, grilled over charcoal. The jerk chicken is just a little more spicy because a lot of people like it that way,” he said.

The chicken BBQs are held right outside his juice stop and there’s a nice cement table to sit and enjoy your barbecued chick or you can take it home.

He sells a few clothes for children and some dresses for women and has a small assortment of other things that intrigue to flea market visitor.

“Oh and by the way, I do the chicken barbecue on Fridays and Saturdays. He’s open usually between Friday and part of Saturday.

MEL TOADVINE Sugar cane juice filling a glass from the juicer.

Not afraid to brag about his other things he can due, Kingsley boasted that he has been a mechanic, a chef, an electrician.

“I’m just gifted,” he laughed. “I can do almost anything. If I see it done one time, I learn from it … it’s just a gift I have.

“But you gotta emphasize the sugar cane juice,” he said. “It’s a done with clean stalks of sugar cane. I peel off a portion of the outside and soak it in water to make sure it is completely clean and then I push cut off shoot into grinding machine that produced the sweet juice and does away with any outside skin.

“If you try it once, you’ll come back again.”

Kinglsey said as far as he knows you can’t buy fresh sugar cane juice at too many places in Lehigh or at least watch your juice right before your eyes,” he laughed as he offered someone a plastic cup of sugar cane juice. “Hmmmm, that’s pretty good,” was the reply.

“I told you so, that you’d like it,” he said again smiling.

Sweet refreshment: Sugarcane juice attracts, refreshes many

By Staff | Dec 3, 2014

Kinglsey Cross

Kinglsey Cross of Lehigh says he has just the answer for someone who wants a really refreshing drink.

And folks walking by his juice stand in Lehigh Acres are drawn inside almost magically due to a sign out front that promotes sugarcane juice.

There are several tall stalks of sugarcane standing outside next to a sign with some of the raw stocks five and six feet high, just about matching the height of Cross who has been selling all kinds of juices and smoothies in addition to the popular sugarcane juice for a couple of years.

“If you haven’t had a small glass of sugarcane juice, you just haven’t lived,” laughed Cross who says he serves all kinds of juice and smoothies for only $3.

In addition to his juice stand that he calls Kingsley, The Juice Man, he also has for sale a wide assortment of Bob Marley T-shirts in addition to CDs and DVDs of his favorite entertainer.

MEL TOADVINE Sugar cane stalks cleaned in water.

Like Marley, Kinglsey Cross is from the Caribbean and Cross calls Jamaica his native home.

“Back there when we were kids, it was fun for the kids to break off a small chunk of sugar cane and chew it up and then spit out the skin. They grow sugar cane everywhere on the island. That is where his aging mother and father still live, well into their 80s and Cross says he goes back often to see them and his other relatives.

But America is his home and he enjoys working several jobs to make ends meet he says. He said he was divorced and taking care of himself and his responsibilities, he can do just about anything and he does, when he is not at the juice stand.

His business is at Unit B2 at the Lehigh Acres Flea Market just off Homestead Rd., next to the Lehigh Acres Citizen Senior Center and East District Substation of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

“When I am not here, I do landscaping, painting inside homes and offices, and a host of other things,” he laughed. “I’m a jack of all trades, I guess,” he said.

MEL TOADVINE Feeding sugar cane into juicer.

“I work to pay my bills and I don’t have to take handouts,” he laughed.

One of Kingsley’s best known deal at his juice stand is a barbecue chicken and jerk chicken, grilled over charcoal. The jerk chicken is just a little more spicy because a lot of people like it that way,” he said.

The chicken BBQs are held right outside his juice stop and there’s a nice cement table to sit and enjoy your barbecued chick or you can take it home.

He sells a few clothes for children and some dresses for women and has a small assortment of other things that intrigue to flea market visitor.

“Oh and by the way, I do the chicken barbecue on Fridays and Saturdays. He’s open usually between Friday and part of Saturday.

MEL TOADVINE Sugar cane juice filling a glass from the juicer.

Not afraid to brag about his other things he can due, Kingsley boasted that he has been a mechanic, a chef, an electrician.

“I’m just gifted,” he laughed. “I can do almost anything. If I see it done one time, I learn from it … it’s just a gift I have.

“But you gotta emphasize the sugar cane juice,” he said. “It’s a done with clean stalks of sugar cane. I peel off a portion of the outside and soak it in water to make sure it is completely clean and then I push cut off shoot into grinding machine that produced the sweet juice and does away with any outside skin.

“If you try it once, you’ll come back again.”

Kinglsey said as far as he knows you can’t buy fresh sugar cane juice at too many places in Lehigh or at least watch your juice right before your eyes,” he laughed as he offered someone a plastic cup of sugar cane juice. “Hmmmm, that’s pretty good,” was the reply.

“I told you so, that you’d like it,” he said again smiling.