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What's that smell in the Offutt Field House - it's Smoothalicious

  • Published
  • By D.P. Heard
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Smoothalicious, located inside the Offutt Field House, serves patrons food and a variety of smoothies designed with both the aspiring athlete and the everyday work out enthusiast in mind.

The owner, Ayten Hooper, wife of U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Wesley Hooper, 97th Intelligence Squadron linguist, begins each day by turning on the lights, firing up the grill, setting out the fruit and vegetables, and making sure she has plenty of coffee and other supplies for the day.

Then, she prepares for her customers who she said she treats to a couple of simple unwritten guidelines: Greets everyone with a smile and offers a healthy alternative to fast food and sodas.

"Smoothalicious offers a great selection of healthy options," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Heather Mahowald, U.S. Strategic Command individual mobilization augmentee.

It doesn't hurt that as soon as someone enters the field house, they may smell a variety of foods to include Gyros, salads and her specialty, smoothies.

"I like cooking and I'm pretty good at it," Hooper said. "I also love to make people happy."

When asked about Hooper's customer service, U.S Air Force Master Sgt. Jacqueline Adair, USSTRATCOM computer networking specialist, who has been a customer at Smoothalicious since it opened, had nothing but good things to say.

"It's nice to benefit from good food," said Adair. "I go out of my way to eat at Smoothalicious. The only thing better than the food is the owner's personality."

Hooper gained most of her experience from running a smoothie shop in England while she and her husband were stationed there. Then when she arrived at Offut, she opened Smoothalicious because she said she wanted to place healthy food in an environment where people are trying to stay healthy.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jason Lemen, 55th Force Support Squadron Offutt Field House operations manager, said that Ayten pays a percentage of her earnings to the field house and the money goes to the 55th FSS Morale, Welfare and Recreation fund; as it is a non-appropriated fund. Incentive prizes are an example of what those funds are used for.

Smoothalicious is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information call (402) 609-6799 or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/smoothalicious.ne.