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Date: 5/1/2019
AGAWAM – At the Agawam City Council meeting on April 16, the Council hosted their monthly program, “Meet Our Local Businesses.” For the month of April, Michelle and Todd Fairman gave a presentation about their small business, Nutrition First, located at 333 Walnut St. Extension in Agawam. The tea and smoothie shop, which opened on Dec. 4, is celebrating nearly five months in business.
“We are a healthy smoothie and energizing tea bar. A healthy environment where people can come, get a healthy meal or a snack and energizing teas that are filled with vitamins and nutrients,” Michelle shared.
Michelle continued, “We came to Agawam and we wanted to bring healthy to the community. We were looking to bring not just healthy alternative but also a positive atmosphere where people can come and feel like family.”
Michelle shared that the business has aimed to be not just a stop for a snack, but a community place. “We wanted to offer that full ‘Mind, body, soul’ kind of place where, if you’re having a bad day, you want to go to Nutrition First. That’s what we’re really developed in the community and we’re very involved in the community,” Michelle said.
Nutrition First has also conducted classroom visits to teach youth about nutrition and health benefits. “Last week, I was in [Agawam Junior High School] and I taught a little about some nutrition facts to the eighth grade class. They got to sample some of our healthy smoothies. We engage with the kids about nutrition. What they are currently eating or not eating and then a healthy alternative,” Michelle shared.
Michelle said she believes she and Todd have accomplished their goal of creating a welcoming business. “Our place is just a fun place. We’re a tiny little spot on Walnut Street Extension. People will come in and just feel alive in there and feel welcome and feel like family. That’s exactly what we were looking to do. We’ve done that. We feel we’ve done that in a short amount of time. We’ve developed a lot of relationships in the community. [There are] a lot of amazing people in town,” Michelle said.
The success of Nutrition First has to do in part with the help of the West of the River Chamber, according to Michelle. “Two months ago, we joined the West of the River Chamber and it was literally the best thing. The relationships we have built through not only Robin who runs the chamber but the businesses and the owners. We’ve attended every single event since we joined,” Michelle shared.
Michelle said that she and Todd have noticed a customer base made up of town youth at Nutrition First. “In addition to coming here and teaching the children about nutrition, we saw a trend of a lot of high school kids. Whether they’re sports teams or just groups of friends coming in at one time. What we do is we’re teaching and inviting all the kids to come back with the whole sports team and they’re bringing the whole team in. We’re doing the same presentation. We’re just teaching them about a healthier alternative and we’re giving them free samples to try out the shakes and try the different teas and they’re loving it. Now they’re bringing their parents in like ‘Mom, look at what we have every day and we love this.’ The kids aren’t filling their cups with sugar and going to other places and eating unhealthy and skipping meals. They love being there and they love the environment,” Michelle said.
Nutrition First currently offers 33 different varieties of smoothie flavors and 31 energizing tea flavors. Michelle shared, “Our mornings are extremely busy with people coming in and getting their healthy smoothie or tea for the day. The smoothie is for a meal. The tea is for your energy all day long. That literally lasts all day long.”
At the conclusion of their presentation, Agawam City Council President Christopher C. Johnson asked, “Being that you’re so new, how did you find working with the town [to be?] Did you encounter any obstacles getting whatever permits or licenses you needed to get open?”
Michelle stated, “That was different. We worked through some first business obstacles for sure. But I have to say that everyone we dealt with in town from day one, even though we had a couple hiccups in the beginning, every single person that we worked with in the town department or wherever has been super, super helpful. They definitely taught us a lot.”
Councilor Anthony R. Suffriti welcomed Nutrition First to the town of Agawam. “I want to welcome you. I think it’s a great addition to this town. Not just having small ownership in business but something that is healthy and good for the folks that are utilizing it and I am going to probably start utilizing it myself so I applaud you for taking that step forward and I want to welcome you,” Suffriti said.
Vice President of the Agawam City Council Cecilia P. Calabrese asked if the Morgan-Sullivan Bridge construction project has had any affect on the business Nutrition First has seen. “Do you find that the detours of the traffic with the bridge is impacting your business and if so, how are you handling that?,” Calabrese asked.
“Because we just opened in December, it’s kind of difficult to gauge because we don’t know what the business would have been like prior. I do know, believe it or not, the detour actually works for us because it comes right around right in front of us. It’s crazy to say that, but the detour really works,” Fairman said.
Fairman continued, “We have people that drive from way far towns to come see us like Wilbraham, Palmer. People come a long way just to come see us because they love the product and they just love the environment.”