Angie Baker, a mother of five and a retired Naval physiologist and pilot, is ready to take her experience maximizing the health of other pilots to a new stage by opening a smoothie shop in Parker. 

Baker, a Highlands Ranch resident, chose Parker as the first Colorado location for Robeks because of its growth and beautiful location, she said.

“I’m excited to bring something healthy to the market,” she said. “I know Parker is one of the areas that’s still developing so I’m excited to get in at the time we did.”

Baker is the franchisee for the new Robeks smoothie shop at the corner of Parker Road and Hess Road. The business, which opened March 7, offers smoothies, juices, bowls and toasts. The store will also have a grand opening on April 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Baker, who moved to the area in 2014, has always been interested in owning her own business.

“I always got along really well with my subordinates in the military,” she said. “They always respected me and I had a good rapport with them and I just liked that leadership role.”

With many highschool-age kids working for her, Robeks enjoys influencing the next generation and helping develop the young workers.

In 2019, she reached out to the owners of Robeks, a Los Angeles-based chain with most locations in California. Baker had become familiar with the company while stationed in San Diego for many years, she said. 

The following year, she began looking for locations for the first of five new stores in the Denver area. Plans to open in fall of 2021 were thwarted by COVID-19-related delays so instead, she set her sights on a springtime opening.

“It’s been very rewarding so far,” she said. 

Baker spent 20 years in the Navy with about half that time spent as a pilot and half as an aerospace physiologist. As a pilot, Baker’s main mission was submarine hunting and protecting assets like aircraft carriers. When she became an aerospace physiologist, she focused on how to help protect pilots through their nutrition and health.

Now, Baker uses some of those same skills she learned in the military to run her business. Eventually, Baker plans to open four more Robeks locations in the Denver area, she said.

While the store has all the people it needs right now, it may begin hiring again in the late spring.