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ALTON – Don and Evonne Varady have come a long ways since they started a small café in Bethalto.
Don and Evonne Varady have put themselves on the national scope with a simple philosophy in their Clean Eatz restaurants – “our goal is to change the world one meal at a time."
The Varady family started with a low-calorie café in Bethalto and soon after moved to a location next to Big Daddy’s in Edwardsville. Eventually, they sold to some Indian cuisine restaurant owners.
In 2013, Clean Eatz was launched in Wilmington, N.C. Clean Eatz was franchised in 2015 and now has 19 locations, mostly in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
“Eating right and exercising are the way to take control of your body,” Evonne said. “If you don’t take control with diet and exercise, how do you expect to feel good and be successful? A person can tell a lot about someone’s outward appearance and their work ethic.”
Evonne said Americans have become a very lazy generation with text messaging and people spending so much time on social media.
“We have the dine-in café and we also see the locations of all our stores and everyone can go menu is same for all of our stores prepackaged meal plans,” she said.
Don handles more the social media portion and much of the marketing of the business and Evonne coordinates much of the food end, the lunch and learns, the recipes, etc.
“We founded Clean Eatz in 2013 with the simple mission of providing people a healthy place to eat."
Being competitive bodybuilders, they found they were unable to eat out because they didn't know or couldn't trust the food they were being served.
“With Clean Eatz, we hope to provide a place where you can eat exactly what you want,” the two said. “Whether you are on a strict diet for competition or health reasons or you are a mother looking for a healthy option for the family, we have you covered.”
Don is a certified personal trainer and an NPC bodybuilder.
“I feel very privileged to be able to wake up every morning and to do something I have a passion for, which is help people achieve their goals in health and fitness,” he said. “I grew up in Edwardsville, where in junior high school and high school. I was picked on a lot for being "the little guy.” I was on the wrestling team and was the smallest guy on the team every year. I was bullied and picked on, called names and many other things growing up.”
One night, a friend was “horsing around” with Don and he was bigger and threw Don over his back and broke his leg.
“That's when I decided that it was time to do something about the "little guy,” Don said. “I started eating a lot of healthy foods and lifting weights to get bigger and from then on I was hooked. In 2009 I competed in my first bodybuilding show. I fell in love with the sport from then on. My love for the sport and the lifestyle is what has allowed me to meet many people that are now near and dear to my heart and are great friends that have taught many things along the way.”
The gym is also were Don met the love of his life, Evonne White, now Evonne Varady.
“We met in the gym training and hit it off immediately. One year later we competed in a show together and our relationship grew and grew. Today we live together and train together every day. She is my best friend. With our passion for living a healthy lifestyle we also decided to become business partners and do what we both love, which is help others learn how to live a healthy lifestyle through proper exercise and nutrition.
One of our mottos is ‘no question is a dumb question’ everyone has to start somewhere just like we did. So if there is anything we can do to help you to achieve your goals, please don't hesitate to ask.”
Don has a strong philosophy about living: “You only have one life, make it count.”
Evonne, the co-founder of Clean Eatz, said she was a former overeater, "lifetime" member of Weight Watchers, is also a kickboxing instructor, personal trainer, and a nationally qualified competitor.
“In 2003, I weighed over 206 pounds when I decided that I'd had enough and joined Weight Watchers,” she said. “I became a lifetime member at 140 pounds and shortly thereafter, I quit going. Within a year I was back to 186 pounds. I loved the way I felt at 140 pounds, so I started running, became a kickboxing instructor, and decided to compete in figure competitions.
“Nutrition was my most difficult challenge; if it was sitting in front of me - ready to eat - I would make the right decision; if not, look out. So, on Sundays, I began making my meals for the entire week and soon my refrigerator was filled with Tupperware containers. Each container had exactly what I needed and it wasn't long before my clients were asking me to do the same thing for them. That is when the idea of the Clean Eatz cafe started.”
Evonne said there are so many temptations that we are faced with every day, she wanted to create a social environment where it is a guiltless ordering on your part.
“When you decide to make a healthy commitment you feel secluded from activities,” she said. “Clean Eatz is your safe haven. It takes willpower and dedication. If it was easy, 67 percent of Americans wouldn't be overweight. Don and I are committed to this for the long haul. We have a passion for our business and customers.
"This is more than a job to us. This is our lifestyle.”
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