Creating community through nutrition, camaraderie

Rachel Sankey

Past Staff

July 15, 2024

PULASKI – Owner Shelly Wolf said opening The Refinery was inspired by her own personal experience.

“I was looking to lose weight,” Wolf said, “A friend of mine was doing… wellness coaching (through Herbalife. I got on the products and lost 44 pounds.”

Throughout her weight loss journey, Wolf said she enjoyed the community and atmosphere Herbalife provided her.

“I always said, ‘if there was ever a chance to open a club in Pulaski, I’d love to do that,’” she said. “Lo and behold, here we are.”

Wolf said she opened The Refinery – a nutrition club located at 135 W. Pulaski St. – six years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

Moving from an administration and sales position for a hydraulic press manufacturer – a role she held for 31 years – to small business ownership, she said, was definitely a major change.

“When I opened (The Refinery), I had partnered with my mentor, and she helped me make sure this is what I wanted to do,” she said. “I worked both jobs for six months (while figuring things out).”

More on The Refinery

The Refinery, Wolf said, is a nutrition club that sells Herbalife, which develops and sells dietary supplements.

“It’s like healthy fast food,” she said. 

Some of the main items available at The Refinery, include:

• Protein shakes – which contain 21 vitamins and nutrients and 24 grams of protein and are meant to be a meal replacement
• Energizing teas – natural energy (160 milligrams of caffeine) from ground black and green tea leaves; vitamin B, ginseng and aloe can also be added
• Protein iced coffee – contains 15 grams of protein and 80 milligrams of caffeine, and comes in a powdered drink mix
• Protein pudding – the same benefits as the protein shake but in pudding form

With each item, Wolf said, comes various flavors and options to choose from.

Take the teas, for example.

“The typical one we do – we call them tea bombs,” she said. “It adds our Liftoff^Ⓡ product to it – an extra boost of energy – but it also helps with mental clarity and focus, because it has ginseng and B vitamins in it. We add a shot of aloe to that… it aids in digestion.”

When it comes to protein shake flavors, Wolf said Chocolate Peanut Butter Lover is the most popular for the chocolate shake base, and Sea Salt Caramel and Caramel Macchiato are the most popular for vanilla. 

In total, Wolf said there are 14 flavors to choose from.

The protein powder, she said, can also be used to make other items, such as waffles and protein balls.

Wolf said The Refinery’s monthly specials “usually go over like crazy.”

“Each month, we do something different,” she said. 

For July, the nutrition club’s special shake flavors include Caramel Pecan Crunch and Peanut Butter Overload. 

The monthly tea specials include Twisted Bomb Pop (pineapple, strawberry and blue blast), Hawaiian Punch (lime, coconut and blue blast) and Beach Please (strawberry, orange and peach).

“There’s a flavor for everybody,” she said.  

Coaching, finding the right plan

Though customers can stop in whenever the shop is open to grab a shake, tea or pudding to go, Wolf said The Refinery also offers wellness coaching. 

Not everyone who enters the nutrition club, she said, is looking to lose weight. 

“Some people want to gain muscle,” she said. “Some people it’s (for) energy, and for some people, it’s about being healthy.”

Those who are looking to have a structured wellness plan with their protein shakes and teas, Wolf said, are encouraged to set up a time to create a free wellness profile with one of the coaches at The Refinery.

“We sit down and go over all their goals and what they’re looking to do,” she said. “(We also) discuss past habits, what they’re doing now, how they’re fueling their body and what they’re eating and drinking.”

Then, Wolf said people are given a three-day transformation pack to try the products, which includes three days’ worth of shakes and teas and details about how those three days will go.

“We lay out a meal plan for them, so when they leave here with the transformation pack, they’re going to be successful with how their meal plan is laid out,” she said. 

From there, Wolf said people can choose whether or not they wish to continue to work with a wellness coach.

People can also order their own shakes and teas to make themselves at home, she said. 

Opportunities to become a wellness coach and/or a distributor of Herbalife products, Wolf said, is also an option at The Refinery. 

“That’s always something we offer – for somebody looking to make a little extra cash,” she said. 

Centered around community

The Refinery has cultivated a community of its own – similar to the one Wolf said she found when she embarked on her weight loss journey.

“It is a place people come to where they can hang out, sit around and talk,” she said. “It’s our goal when somebody walks through the door to greet them with a smile, and if we know their name – which, if they’ve been in here (before), we typically do – you greet them with their name.”

Wolf said it’s important to her to build relationships with the people who come into the shop – and support a healthy lifestyle – which is why she said she decided to start Walking Wednesdays. 

“That is something I started last year,” she said. “It’s (meant) to bring anybody and everybody to a safe space to get some healthy exercise in, meet new people and bring some friends along – a great community walk. It’s been going over well.”

Wolf said The Refinery has also participated in fundraisers for the members and organizations in the community, such as the VFW.

“I was involved (in the response) when the kids were in that bonfire (accident that happened last year) – I helped coordinate that fundraiser they did for that,” she said. 

As The Refinery continues through its sixth year, Wolf said one of her goals is to get the nutrition club’s name out there.

“I have people who say, ‘oh, I didn’t know you were there,’” she said. “It’s been good (to) give them a healthy option, and a lot of them comment about the environment and coming here because it’s their happy place.”

The Refinery is open from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The store is closed Saturday and Sunday.

Walking Wednesdays start at 6 p.m. 

To learn more about The Refinery, visit its Facebook page.