Nutrition 4ever wants to be part of your health routine

On Thursday, Caty Hetrick went back behind the counter of Nutrition 4Ever, located in Hudson, to prepare smoothies as three customers, donning gym clothes, arrived from the store’s back entryway, one that’s connected to two different gyms: Riverfront Athletic Club and Ethos Performance. 

For Hetrick, this is her first foray into operating a store herself. She helped run the River Falls-based RF Nutrition with her parents, Nate and Kelly, prior. 

Despite looking elsewhere for a store initially, Hetrick said she likes the location because of its proximity to the two gyms. It's so close, in fact, the store has a two-way mirror behind the counter, meaning potential customers can see what kinds of shakes and teas await them after a workout. 

“So we definitely do make some awkward eye contact sometimes,” Hetrick said. “But, you know, sometimes it drives them in here.”

After graduating from St. Croix Central, Hetrick thought about going to Cosmetology School, before an opportunity with a nutrition store in the area opened up. Ultimately, for her, that opportunity didn’t work out, but Hetrick considered that a sign: she wanted to sell nutrition products for a living instead.  

Besides smoothies and teas at her new store, Hetrick has a kiosk in the front corner that features powders and other supplements. Hetrick said she likes tea before the gym and CR7 during the workout. After, she likes either a Rebuild Strength shake or just a regular shake from the store. 

Notably, her store doesn’t sell the kind of high-caffeine, sugary drinks that are common in workout culture like C4 Ripped or BEYOND RAW LIT, for instance. Hetrick tries to emphasize what she calls a better kind of caffeine — as opposed to energy drinks like Monster Energy.

“Like in most energy drinks, I would say, and pre-workout, you're always going to follow it with a crash. Our teas don't do that, which is super helpful in my opinion,” she said. 

Right now, Hetrick has just one employee regularly at the Hudson location beside her: Jackson Turner. Turner, who went to Ellsworth High School, said he joined because of Hetrick.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Turner said. “But I’ve always been big into fitness.” He also said he liked RF Nutrition before this, which led to his decision to join.

Caty’s parents still work at RF Nutrition. Nate and Kelly, both running separate stores just under two years ago, decided to pool resources together under one location. Nate’s store was named Nutrition 4Ever at the time, which is where Caty got the name from. Kelly’s was named RF Nutrition — ultimately the name they went with under one banner. 

“It was hard for me to get rid of the name because the four in ‘4ever’ was for my four kids,” Nate said. “So [Caty] was just like ‘You know what? Let’s take over Nutrition 4Ever.’”

With the takeover complete, those interested in the Hudson location can stop by 120 First St. from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon and Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.