New Waverly health hub The Mix offers drinks both nutritious and delicious

WAVERLY — With flavors like “Bomb Pop” and “Caramel Cheesecake,” the first impression at the new Waverly tea and shake shop The Mix might suggest that its main selling point is indulgence.

In a way, it is. But at The Mix, indulgence intersects with nutrition.

The healthy drink hub opened in Waverly on Dec. 1, employing a business model similar to the one in place at co-owner Kyann Sheets’ previous management stop, a health club and community space called Blend Ashland.

Like the shop 15 minutes to the east, The Mix specializes in shakes and teas that might taste sweet — or highly caloric — but are actually loaded with vitamins, protein and natural energy boosters.

Flavors on The Mix’s shake menu include “Snickers,” “Pineapple Mango” and “Blueberry Muffin,” and the energy teas range from “Skittles” to “Sour Watermelon” to “Nerds Rope.”

The drinks may taste like candy, but they’re not. The sugar content is much lower than one might expect — they’re flavored with plant-based sweeteners — and everything else that goes in is tailored for people seeking healthy lifestyles.

The shakes are blended with 24 grams of protein and the vitamins and minerals needed to fully replace a meal, Sheets said. And the teas are full of aloe, guarana and B vitamins for a day’s worth of healthy energy.

“People have said, ‘Waverly needed something like this, something healthy,’” co-owner Sheri Hammett said. “You just don’t have a lot of choices, so I think people are excited about another option.”

The Mix’s origins stem from a weight loss and muscle gain competition that Sheets was taking part in with other servicemen and women in the Army National Guard. The rural Eagle resident started visiting Blend Ashland for their meal-replacement shakes.

“I was in there so much getting shakes and teas that I was just like, ‘I should get a job here,’” Sheets said.

Turned out, the timing was right. She decided that after nearly two decades, she was ready to leave full-time military life behind. She managed Blend for just more than a year and loved it for the shop’s health-mindedness coupled with its efforts to foster a place for customers to meet, study and chat about fitness or life goals.

At that time, Sheets worked out at a Lincoln gym where Hammett, a Lincolnite and former Waverly school district teacher, led strength training sessions. Sheets would bring Blend’s energy teas with her or share photos online of what she had made that day.

“She brought me a tea, and then she brought me another one, and then I started going to Blend, and something in me was just like, ‘Yeah, we need to start something like this,’” Hammett said.

Of the two, Hammett is the risk taker. Sheets said she could have continued working at Blend and been comfortable. But Hammett pitched to her the idea of owning their own nutrition hub — it wouldn’t have been much more work than Sheets was already putting in as a store manager.

“I think Sheri saw the opportunity,” Sheets said. “We could do about 20% more and be the owners.”

Sheets knew she wanted to continue working in a small town, and Waverly made the most sense — she works out at local CrossFit gym Iron Bourne Fitness and lives in the Waverly school district. Hammett’s commute from Lincoln is only seven minutes.

“We just meet in the middle,” Sheets said. “We just feel like Waverly is a growing community, but there’s not a lot here. It just seems like a good opportunity.”

So far, mornings at The Mix have been busy, with customers stopping in after workouts or on their way to work. Sheets said she thinks people in the Waverly area are excited to grab a morning bite that doesn’t involve a stop at a gas station or fast-food restaurant.

“Nothing against having fast food every once in a while, but this is way better for people than fast food,” she said.

Also on the menu are powdered waffles caked with 31 grams of protein, as well as peanut butter “energy balls.” Other side dishes will be offered depending on the season.

“We’re not just for people who want to lose weight, we’re for people who want to maintain weight and are fine having some yummy peanut butter energy balls,” Sheets said.

Customers have already made the drive to Waverly from Lincoln just to try out the new health hub. Hammett thinks the draw goes beyond what’s on the menu.

“It’s just about being a people person,” Hammett said. “I feel like when you provide good service and you also have good products, why wouldn’t somebody come here?”

Hammett and Sheets plan to host recurring events at The Mix, whether it’s a karaoke night or a Bible study. A long table near the front window was handpicked for larger groups to hold business or group meetings.

“It’s honestly whatever the community needs and whatever they’re receptive to,” Sheets said.

While one of The Mix’s top goals is to promote health and wellness in a town that previously has had few such options, Sheets’ overarching motivation is for the health hub to be an agent for community and to be the bright spot in someone’s day. She’s seen a lot of darkness in the military and in her time as a social worker and knows it’s needed.

“But that’s this for us, we can be the positive smile that somebody sees that day, or we can be the hug that somebody gets that day,” Sheets said. “The world isn’t always a great place, but if you need a friend, you can come here.”

The Mix is located at 13220 Callum Drive. It is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. More information is available on The Mix’s Instagram page (@the_mix_waverly_).