OSWEGO – A new health and wellness shop, Eastside Nutrition was birthed during the COVID-19 pandemic to help people resolve “their bad habits” sustained during the lockdown, as one of its owner’s Leo Babcock described part of the inspiration for the shop.
Leo owns Eastside Nutrition along with his wife, Tricia, and is one of 33 local businesses to receive assistance via the REVIVAL Grant, with the new shop receiving $5,000.
While Eastside Nutrition was started back in January of this year, it too experienced many issues associated with the pandemic. The primary issues stem from building up their storefront which is located on the Eastside of Oswego, right next to the Planet Fitness.
“The hardest part for us was getting the people here, getting the construction people here, getting the permits, getting them to sign off, getting the supplies during COVID was impossible,” Leo said. “For all of our metal products, which are our sinks, dishwashers and ice machines, they were running behind because the warehouses were closed.”
As a result of this delay, Eastside Nutrition opened in mid-April, six weeks later than desired, according to Leo. Beyond the COVID-19 delays, the prices of materials shot up throughout the pandemic in the U.S. This forced Leo to go well over budget when it came to building up the “health club” as it is described, spending $40,000 more than expected. Because of the overage, Eastside Nutrition could not invest in certain needs, including a larger ice machine, something the grant will help it obtain.
“We had some equipment we were not able to buy,” Leo said. “We are using the money to buy a [larger] ice machine. The hot water tank, we actually did not have, we just bought that. and we are doing some signage out front that we just did not have the money for.”
Leo and Tricia had been dreaming of opening up a business of their own and in January, they finally got their chance. To them, customers are not simply strangers, exchanging money for their healthy teas, shakes and other items, but almost like family.
This is why customers are encouraged to sign up for a free “membership,” which includes access to a health coach as well as a nutrition hotline to their parent company, Herbalife. The Herbalife brand is one that Leo swears by, as it helped him lose over 100 pounds.
“That’s been one of my drives, is the health and wellness of the community,” Leo said. “I weighed 300 pounds at one point. I lost 115 pounds in a year, and I’ve been using Herbalife products for the last two years to modify my diet … I liked what The Mix was doing and to work with Kathy and Bill Greene to actually do another club.”
The Mix, on the Westside is another Herbalife brand and its owners, the Greenes, had to recommend the Babcocks to Herbalife in order for them to get the green light. Leo and Tricia’s daughter had been working at The Mix for several years up until their family created Eastside Nutrition.
Leo and Tricia provide a near perfect mix for running the business. Leo runs the back office side of things, while Tricia is a nutritionist who can offer advice and guidance on the weight loss journey of their members. Beyond nutrition, Tricia was also an event planner and hopes to use that experience to foster a club-like atmosphere with events like a “Paint and Sip” which they will host on Wednesday, July 14.
“I want to incorporate [event planning] into my business here where I’m going to start doing a [monthly] calendar,” Tricia said. “That way, we’ll have maybe one or two activities a week.”
She added that she wanted to give the public something to do since COVID-19 seems to be on the decline. While Eastside Nutrition experienced many different problems throughout COVID-19, the Babcocks credited Oswego’s mayor, Billy Barlow, as an incredible tool to help them during these times.
“Even in April, it was still a very dark time COVID wise, because … there were restrictions,” Leo said. “Mayor Barlow was a big assistance to us, making sure we had everything we’d need because he wanted business to open up even during COVID.”
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