BUY FIVE

  1. “After the Storm” — a booklet designed to help kids cope with the trauma of a hurricane. Free.
  2. Souper Soup Mix — Just add water to the Lemon Ginger Chickenless mix; a cure for what ails ya. $7.99
  3. Bee’s Wrap — this is “sustainable reusable food wrap” designed to replace plastic baggies and Saran Wrap. $6
  4. Veggimins Chocolate Bar — raw chocolate is the joy-inducing medium for 15 mg of pure cannabidiol hemp oil (CBD). $11.99
  5. Flu Buster — take a shot of apple, orange, lemon, ginger, elderberry and Echinacea. It’s gently warmed. $7.50

Blair Shiver, former Weekly staffer, and her husband, Michael Nealis, are the new owners of Food for Thought in Marathon.

“They are going to do an amazing job,” said Ellin Meade, former owner.

“We feel blessed to continue on her legacy,” said Shiver.

Shiver said there will be no immediate changes to the store’s operation. In fact, Meade will continue to be involved as a mentor to the new owners while finding enough time to visit with her grandbabies in another state. The café will keep blending and creating, the bookshelves will continue to be repopulated as things sell, and the customers will continue to receive personal assistance to select the natural health remedies it stocks.

Nealis said he wants to dispel the notion that healthy food is only for the affluent. “Everyone is welcome here,” he said.

“The thing I love most about this place is that everyone comes in,” Shiver said. “We have big, burly guys from the Electric Cooperative in here buying lunch at the café, not just ‘crunchy’ hippies,’” she said. “This store and café has a loving and welcoming atmosphere.”

Shiver and Nealis said they see the most opportunity for expansion in the café portion of the operation. It’s possible the footprint will increase and more offerings added to the menu.

“And we have the same staff,” Shiver said. “They are an extremely important part of this venture.”

Of course, the real boss will be 1-year-old daughter Amelia Nealis. For the next few years, she’s going to need some help reaching the higher shelves.

 

Sara Matthis thinks community journalism is important, but not serious; likes weird and wonderful children (she has two); and occasionally tortures herself with sprint-distance triathlons, but only if she has a good chance of beating her sister.