Redeemed Nutrition first opened with little more than a storefront and serving bar in a former printing shop at 910 Quincy St
Seven years later, owner Tiffany Amador has turned the nutrition club into a gathering place where customers order protein shakes and energized drinks and students stop in to play games
Article continues below this ad
Amador opened Redeemed Nutrition in 2019 armed with the experience of operating a nutrition club in her hometown of Tulia. Redeemed Nutrition sells Herbalife products, including shakes and energy drinks
Amador said she entered the health and nutrition business to gain more freedom, build relationships and create a place where customers could leave feeling better than when they arrived
“We’re all about building relationships with people, making them feel better about themselves,” she said
Amador grew up in Tulia and has lived in Plainview for about 28 years. She initially moved to the city to attend Wayland Baptist University and become more involved with New Life Church, now known as Trinity Life Church
Article continues below this ad
Before serving shakes, Amador issued loans and collected payments as a manager of Sun Loans Company
She worked for the loan company for 13 years and described having to track down people who hadn’t paid their loans, joking that the job did not make her a lot of friends
“They liked me when I handed them money, but when I was asking for the money back they didn’t like me,” she said
As she grew older, Amador began to question if she wanted to remain in that line of work. Inspired by some of her customers who were returning to school, she decided to do the same
Article continues below this ad
“I’m like, ‘you’re 70 years old and you’re going back to school?’” Amador said. “They’re learning new things and I’m like, ‘ok, if you can go back to school, I can go back to school.’”
Amador left her job and enrolled at South Plains College. At the time, she knew she wanted to own a business connected to health and fitness but had not settled on a plan
Amador began visiting nutrition clubs in the area. When a local operator asked if she had considered entering the business, her first answer was “a hard no.”
She later reconsidered, deciding she wanted to operate a physical nutrition club rather than sell products primarily online or through person-to-person sales. Within about two months, she opened her first location in Tulia
Article continues below this ad
Amador ran that club for two years before turning it over to members of the team she had built. She then returned to Plainview, where her family, church and community ties were already established
“My kids went to school here, my husband worked here, our church is here — everything’s here,” she said. “I wanted to open up a business where I knew everybody.”
Her husband, David Amador, recently marked 35 years working at the Walmart distribution center. Their daughter Madison also works at Redeemed Nutrition
Amador said she lived about two blocks from the current location when she decided to open her Plainview club. On the day she began searching for a building, she noticed a rental sign she had passed many times before
Article continues below this ad
When she reached out about the building, she was surprised to find out it was owned by an acquaintance who had previously encouraged her to open a nutrition club
“It’s crazy how God kind of aligned all those things together,” she said
The building had once housed a longtime printing or computer-related business. When Redeemed Nutrition first opened, Amador said, some residents still arrived carrying printers and computers because they did not realize the previous business had closed
The former owners attended Redeemed Nutrition’s grand opening to see what had become of the space
Article continues below this ad
Owning a small business required Amador to fill nearly every role, from advertising to cleaning the restrooms
“If you’re a small business, you wear different hats,” she said. “You’re everybody and everything to the business.”
When it first opened, Redeemed Nutrition had only what it needed to operate
“All we had was that bar right there, and that’s it,” Amador said. “No chairs, no decorations, no ice machine, no fancy anything. A bar, the products and us.”
Article continues below this ad
That changed over time with the addition of equipment, decorations, seating and games that made the space feel fuller and more welcoming. The games help make the club a place for students and families to spend time together
Because the business is near Plainview High School and Wayland Baptist University, students frequently walk past the building. Amador began welcoming them inside to get out of the summer heat or winter cold
“If you don’t have money and you can’t buy anything, that’s fine,” she said. “Just come hang out.”
Amador said the store has a loyal customer base, some of whom have visited since it first opened and would occasionally request items from old menus
Article continues below this ad
These longtime customers have become like family, she said. Some have invited her to weddings or baby showers. She has watched high school and Wayland students graduate, marry and return with children of their own
“It’s neat just to be able to build a community of people and friends and families that become family at the end,” she said
That community is also part of Amador’s faith-centered vision for the business. The name comes from Amador’s Christian faith and her belief that people can change their habits
“Just like in the Bible, when God can redeem you, you can redeem your life,” she said. “You can redeem your healthy habits if you choose to. You can go from really bad health to something really good, one step at a time, one shake at a time.”
Article continues below this ad
She said customers sometimes come in feeling discouraged, share problems or ask for prayer
“I’ve always said that I wanted God to use this area, this spot, this business, for his purpose,” she said. “They may come in sad, but they leave happy.”
