Less than one week into the opening of Smoothie King, owner George Weeks was excited at the community response to the store, the first of its kind in the Miss-Lou.

“The response has exceeded our wildest expectations,” Weeks said, standing in the bright, cheerful room where blenders whirred, mixing fresh fruits into smooth drinks.

“The response on opening day (Monday) was phenomenal and especially in the afternoon after schools let out. It just exploded,” he said.

The colorful, eye-catching building is at 112 Highway 61 South, across from Days Inn and next door to the new location of Pizza Hut.

Smoothie King is a national chain, with 430 stores in 34 states. Founder and CEO of the company Steve Kuhnau started the business in response to allergies and health issues of his own.

In addition to the smoothie drinks, the new store also has a line of health products.

A drive-through window already is catching on with customers, who have more than 70 recipes for smoothies from which to choose. “And we can customize,” Weeks said.

Weeks said customers during the first week included some who knew about Smoothie King stores and some who did not.

“We’ve been surprised by the people who knew about it and encouraged by the people who want to learn about it,” he said.

Weeks and his wife, Susan, moved to Natchez in February. Originally from New Orleans, they moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2003 and opened a Smoothie King in Bay St. Louis. Their store was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, as was their home in Picayune.

“We were looking for a different lifestyle,” Weeks said. “We always intended one day to live in Natchez. We’ve always been fond of Natchez. It just happened a little sooner than we thought it would.”

Weeks said he sees opportunities for the business to grow, perhaps to cater at school functions, for example.

However, the Smoothie King business is volume based, and he is not ready to make predictions about another store in a different part of town.

“If we continue to have business as we have the first three days, we’ll be very happy,” he said.

“I’m very happy and grateful for the people’s support and their patience in our opening.”

The store will be open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.