Shifting gears

FORT RECOVERY — Rose Laux always wanted to own a business.

She started taking Herbalife products about four years ago while working third shift at Celina Aluminum Precision Technology. Laux said she began seeing results, such as weight loss and having more energy, soon after starting on the dietary supplements. That’s when she decided she wanted to share the products with others in the community.

She opened The Fort Nutrition at 112 W. Butler St. in August.

“I want to help other people feel better and help people with weight loss goals,” Laux said.

The Fort Nutrition offers a variety of items from Herbalife, a multi-level marketing corporation that develops dietary supplements. It sells everything from energy teas and soy protein shakes to iced protein coffees and fat reducer shots.

Some of The Fort Nutrition’s drink creations made from Herbalife products are unique to the village storefront. One of its most popular drinks is the Harvest Moon, a fruity concoction with Herbalife’s Orange Liftoff. (Laux’s son, Dustin Winters, came up with the creation.)

Laux mentioned other popular items, including the tropical energy tea Beach Bum and the peanut butter Oreo or strawberry cheesecake shakes.

“I get so many high school kids that come here,” she said. “And a lot of kids come in and tell me they focus better when they drink the teas.”

Winters, who works second shift at JR Manufacturing, often helps his mother with the store in the mornings. He enjoys crafting new drink combinations.

“I’m kind of like a mixologist,” he said, noting he’s also put together what he refers to as the Trash Can, a concoction of his own made with “a little of this, a little of that,” depending on the day.

“I’ll throw like banana and pineapple and green apple together, or you know, whatever flavors you’re feeling,” he said.

As a Bellfountaine resident, Laux tired of the long drives to Celina, Ohio, and she wanted a change in pace. She worked in various places over the years, from BRC Rubber and Plastics in Bluffton to Walmart and FCC in Portland. (She met her husband, John, at FCC in 2013.)

She began looking earlier this year in Fort Recovery for available space — Portland’s Craven Nutrition shares products from the same company, which requires each seller to be located at least 3 miles apart — and one evening noticed the building at 112 W Butler St.

Laux had held off opening a new business for a few years after her initial plans. She saved up enough money to pay rent and put in new plumbing at the building, which was previously a sewing store and, before then, a chiropractor’s office.

“The only plumbing that was in here was back in the bathroom,” Laux explained, noting she needed a sink and other utilities in the front to make drinks.

After several months of work, Laux opened her doors in late summer.

So far, Laux said, business has been good. Some weeks are busier than others. One of her largest challenges lately with supply shortages has been getting ahold of materials, like cups and straws.

Overall, though, she remains optimistic for her store’s future.

“It seems like every day I get new customers,” she said.

The Fort Nutrition is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.