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In December 2000, Gael McAllister flew more than 4,000 miles to put her body through the 26-mile Honolulu Marathon.

It was her first marathon. She finished the run in just over four hours. She raised funds for the event through the Leukemia Society by holding car washes and bake sales.

"I remember going into bars, like Chumley's on Lawndale, and selling baked goods," says McAllister, laughing. She had to raise $5,000 in just three short months for the race.

She did it because cancer had touched her family and the family of a close friend. But McAllister also ran that marathon because, as she puts it, "I want to give back."

That's also the mantra behind The Juice Gallery (718 W. Market St., Greensboro; 317-0174), a small smoothie and coffee shop McAllister recently opened.

"I just wanted to provide something I thought would benefit the community," she says. "To give parents a place to gather, to offer something healthy and to educate people that eating healthy doesn't have to taste bad."

Since graduating with an art degree from UNCG in 2000, McAllister knew she wanted to create some sort of venture for herself.

"I wanted to do something that involved my background in art and my love of coffee and healthy foods."

She found it in a space in The Shops on West Market, an old retail strip near the intersection of Cedar Street that she passed every day for six years on her daily five-mile run.

With her background in food service and the help of her boyfriend, a veteran of the restaurant industry and co-owner of Francesca's Italian restaurant in Winston-Salem, McAllister tailored the small retail space and made it her own.

The Juice Gallery offers 20-ounce smoothies ($4) in flavors including strawberry, mango and acai berry, which is loaded with antioxidants. Healthful supplements that can be added to smoothies include ginkgo biloba, spirulina (an antioxidant), soy protein isolate, creatine for energy and a concoction called Doctor's Garden for vegans. Vitamins A, C, E and folic acid and calcium are other options.

McAllister also offers freshly brewed coffee and espresso drinks. She plans to add bagels and baked goods, but for now offers Kashi bars and bags of chips.

McAllister eagerly awaits warmer weather and the possibility that a greenway loop will eventually replace the rail bed just a dozen yards from the shop's door, bringing the fit and the thirsty.

In the meantime, she hopes The Juice Gallery will appeal to mothers of preschoolers and young children as a meeting place to get a beverage and relax with a magazine or log on to the Wi-Fi with a laptop while kids take advantage of a children's area complete with a table, a large floor puzzle and a chalkboard wall begging to be covered in erasable graffiti.

"I'd like to schedule simple activities for ages 4 to 11 to occupy 20 to 30 minutes to give parents a break," McAllister says.

In addition to her art background, McAllister did a short stint as an assistant at a day care center. She also credits her mother, Gwen McAllister, for the desire to nurture and give to the community. After all, mother Gwen was a teacher for more than 30 years before retiring to start Women Workforce Web, an organization that brings women together and helps them develop job skills.

"She very much instilled in me that if you've been blessed, you give back," McAllister says.

Anniversary Celebration

Bistro Sofia (616 Dolley Madison Road, Greensboro; http://www.bistrosofia.com) is celebrating the restaurant's nine-year anniversary with a glimpse back.

From 5 to 10 p.m. April 2, the restaurant is offering menu favorites from the past nine years. The special a la carte menu comes with a complimentary glass of champagne.

Bistro Sofia features an American Bistro flavor and a diverse wine list. For reservations, call 855-1313.

Peppa Goes Into The Pot

The Melting Pot (2924 Battleground Ave., Greensboro; 545-6233; http://www.meltingpot.com), a fondue restaurant, is featuring the spicy-sweet flavor of the South African Peppadew in the new Big Night Out four-course Caribbean-infused menu.

The small, bright, pickled red pepper is less about heat and more about flavor. This trendy fruit is a key ingredient in The Melting Pot's Caribbean Cheese Fondue of white wine, pineapple juice and Gouda and Gran Queso cheeses.

For dessert, a favorite has returned. The Bananas Foster Chocolate Fondue is flambéed table side with white chocolate, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Coffee Tasting

This is something you don't often hear of but ought to be as common as wine tastings in this java-addicted culture. Backstreet Buzz Coffee House (234 S.W. Market St., Reidsville) is holding a coffee tasting from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday.

Seating is limited, so call 348-2899 to register.

Muse Helps Children

Muse Restaurant (3124 Kathleen Ave., Greensboro; 323-1428; http://www.restaurantmuse.net) in Friendly Shopping Center has become a restaurant with a cause.

Through an innovative partnership with Children's Home Society of North Carolina, Muse Restaurant has committed to donating 5 percent of its gross revenues every Thursday to CHS. Also, special events are being planned to raise awareness of adoption and to inform the public how they can be involved.

"Muse Restaurant is about finding inspiration to do great things," says chef and owner Mitchell Nicks. "But we realize that there are a lot of children in our community who may never have an opportunity to find their own 'muse' in life. So we are partnering with CHS to help provide children with that opportunity."

Muse creates its menus from artisan producers, foragers and boat fishermen from around the globe.

CHS is a statewide, nonprofit, nonsectarian private adoption and foster care agency serving children in families in North Carolina.

For more information, visit http://www.chsnc.org or call (800) 632-1400.

New Maitre D'

By the way, the next time you're at Muse, be sure to say hello to Jerry Hillyard, the new maitre d'.

Hillyard comes to Muse from The Olde Pink House of Savannah, Ga., and is experienced with AAA Four-Diamond Restaurants.

Have restaurant news for Short Orders? Contact Carl Wilson at 373-7145 or cwilson@news-record.com.