April 05, 2024
Better Health Market and Cafe opens on Secor Road
Better Health Market opens in Ohio
A family-owned health store chain based in Michigan recently opened its first location outside the state — a location in Toledo, replacing a similar store on Secor Road.
Better Health Market and Cafe opened its doors late in February in the former Bassett’s Health Foods location at 3344 Secor Rd.
The community response has been very positive, owner Tedd Handelsman said.
“Our goal is to better the health of everybody that we can,” Mr. Handelsman said. “We’re really happy with it. I think it’s been a little bit more than two weeks but it’s done well. We want to keep getting the word out and let people know we’re there so they can experience what we have to.”
Holland resident Taylor Kaufman was looking for organic produce, healthy pre-made meals, and nutritional supplements, among other products.
She’s a big fan of products with natural ingredients and organic foods because of what she does for a living, Ms. Kaufman said.
“I’m a nurse at Restore [Hyper Wellness] in Perrysburg,” she said. “We do IV drips and just all natural things, and I’ve gotten really into that.”
Mr. Handelsman said the company decided to set up a store in Toledo because it felt the city lacked the healthier products it provides.
“We felt it was an underserved market,” he said. “There weren’t a lot of true natural food stores in the area, and [we felt] we would offer a unique experience that nobody else could offer.”
Jay Moris, grocery manager at Better Health’s Toledo location, said the store has gotten a lot of traffic from old Bassett’s customers.
“We’re getting a lot of crossover because so many people that came into Bassett’s are now seeing that we have all this other stuff and they’re really happy about it,” Mr. Moris said. “A lot of people came into Bassett’s just for supplements. I don’t think Bassett’s had as much grocery, bodega stuff as we do.”
He said people appreciate the store’s layout because it makes products easier to find as well as how knowledgeable Rob Dodd, store manager of Better Health Market’s Toledo location, and the staff are with the numerous supplements the store offers.
“They’re immensely knowledgeable in all of this stuff,” Mr. Moris said. “They’re able to help people who are like, ‘I’m looking for this because I’m on this diet.’ They can say, ‘You need some iron,’ or, ‘You need some of this,’ or, ‘this is what you’re missing in your diet if this is what you’re eating.’”
Mr. Dodd said residents in the area should take advantage of the “non-toxic” products for sale in the store.
“[People should come in] for a higher quality of life,” Mr. Dodd said. “Whether you’re coming out of mental illness, alcohol, drugs, stomach issues, physical fitness, it’s all right here in this location.”
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