Dezmon Gray and Terence Boyd had a dream to bring a healthier option to Valdosta, Georgia. While that dream took five years, two failed startups, and a lot of motivation to complete, they were finally able to open Talk of the Town Nutrition, a place that offers healthier drink options in their teas, shakes, and enhancers.

Gray and Boyd said that it was hard to find the financial aid to give them a kick start, which was only one among many factors that involved starting a business.

“We finally got someone to believe in us, and everything went through,” Gray said. “It’s tough to open a business, so many unexpected expenses and extra fees always seem to come up. You really have to have a solid mentality when wanting to open a business. Your mind has to stay sharp because anything can happen before you actually open the doors.”

Talk of the Town Nutrition’s goal is to provide a positive, clean atmosphere where customers can come to get all the nutrients their bodies need on a daily basis.

“We want people to feel good when they walk out the door and have plenty of energy,” Gray and Boyd said. “We want this place to feel like home, and we also want to let people know that they can trust our expertise from our experience when it comes to any nutrition or exercise needs.”
The business offers a variety of options that can suit any customer’s needs. Both owners explained that there are three steps to choosing the perfect combination of healthy drink.

Step 1 is to choose the type of tea they want, which all help burn fat, speed up the metabolism, and provide antioxidant support to the immune system. Costumers have a choice of lemon, raspberry, Chai, cinnamon, and peach.

Step 2 is to choose Aloe, which focuses more on digestive health. Flavors include mango, mandarin, and cranberry.

Step 3 involves choosing a plant-based shake, which includes a list of creative and yummy sounding flavors that range on a list of $7, $8 and $9. Shakes have 24 grams of protein and are all under 300 calories, low in sugar, fats, and carbohydrates.

“People can come here to lose weight or to gain lean muscle,” Gray said. “We have something for everyone. We have so many enhancers, from collagen to extra fat burners and other supplements that actually help create double the energy than the tea. We also have extra protein options and fiber and probiotics, which is important for gut health.”

To come up with their menu, the team creates flavors that sound and taste good. Some of their most popular orders, according to Gray and Boyd, are blueberry muffin with a peach mango tea or chocolate caramel chip with a raspberry cranberry tea and pomegranate liftoff.

Both of the owners’ favorite, however, is banana pudding with raspberry cranberry tea pomegranate liftoff, hands down. For new customers who may find all the different combinations intimidating, Gray suggest trying the chocolate caramel chip or the snickers with a peach mango or raspberry cranberry tea.

Talk of the Town Nutrition are also distributers of Herbalife, a global nutrition company, whose products they use for their shakes, teas, and enhancers.

“We use plant-based proteins for weight loss shakes, and for anyone wanting to gain weight, we use a whey protein with pure ingredients,” the owners said.

As for the future of their business, Gray and Boyd plan to expand their horizons by opening more shops. They will do events for college football game nights by adding more TVs and implementing longer work hours.

“We always want the best customer service, and you can always get better in every aspect of the business,” Gray and Boyd said. “We want to listen to the customers and see what they want and adjust from there.

“It’s been a long journey. We encourage each person to stop by and see what we offer. We have something for every single person, doesn’t matter age or what level you are in your health journey. We also want to encourage other dreamers not to give up. It’s going to be tough at times but worth it in the end. We are very blessed to be doing this and ready to open up more.”

---

Written by: Alex Dunn | Photography by: Eric Vinson