Clean Eatz settles into Cascade Township

Clean Eatz settles into Cascade Township
<strong> Courtesy Clean Eatz </strong>

The owner of a wellness-focused café and meal plan service is settling into his space after opening late this summer and is gearing up to offer delivery.

Owner Ken VanderVeen in late August opened a Clean Eatz franchise at 6080 28th St. SE in Cascade Township that specializes in preparing “delicious, properly portioned meals” for grab-and-go, indoor dining, meal plans and catering.

“We’ve been growing ever since (August), and I’ve been shocked at the community support. It’s absolutely fantastic,” he said.

Clean Eatz offers meals that balance protein, carbohydrates and fats, prepared to order in the café, as well as weekly meal plans from the Clean Eatz website. Customers who have dietary restrictions can choose from an array of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan build-your-own bowls, salads, burgers, wraps, flatbreads and sandwiches.

Ken VanderVeen. Courtesy Clean Eatz

“It’s a different enough concept, with the café menu and the meal plans that we offer, where it takes some time just to work it out and for people to understand what we do, but we’ve been spreading the word and have been happy with the growth that we’ve seen and particularly the community support,” VanderVeen said. “Once people get in and see what we’re all about, there’s a lot of excitement.”

VanderVeen purposefully chose the Cascade Township location — inside a former, completely renovated Wendy’s — because it is about four minutes from his home and within a 1-mile radius of over a dozen gyms and boutique fitness and yoga studios. He said he was surprised by the number of customers who come in saying their personal trainer recommended Clean Eatz as a health food place to help them with their weight loss, muscle-building or general nutrition goals.

“That’s been great to hear, that word is traveling among the right circles,” he said. “… My best days are when I get a note or an email (from) someone telling me about what progress they’ve made in the short time that we’ve been here.”

VanderVeen said his franchise is about a week away from signing up with Uber Eats, Door Dash and GrubHub to offer delivery.

The location’s hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

VanderVeen purchased the rights to open two franchises in the greater Grand Rapids area, extending to the lakeshore. He said he will turn his attention to the second location once the Cascade location is well-established.

More information on the Cascade location is online.