“We are what we eat.” Beautiful Whirl’d turning 10 years old in 2026 in Warren
The owners of a Trumbull County eatery are entering spring by celebrating ten years since the start of their business.
Mary Elston and her husband, Clint, have owned and operated Beautiful Whirl’d since 2016 at 141 W Market St. in Warren’s Courthouse Square.
“We’re very passionate about whole, healthy foods and making them accessible and flavorful,” she said.
Elston said the menu has grown significantly thanks to ongoing community support from an initial small handful of menu items.
“We started with four wraps and four smoothies on the menu, and now there are 12 wrap options, and all of those also come as hot sandwiches, quesadillas and salads,” Elston said. “We have 13 smoothies, and now offer the organic Sambazon acai bowls as well. We have come quite a long way.”
Elston has worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years and said the inspiration for Beautiful Whirl’d first came from a friend of hers who was dealing with drug addiction.
“During prayer, the Lord asked me to ask her what she wants to do with her life,” Elston said. “We had been baking for a fundraiser, and I asked her to come help me. Over the course of about five hours of baking, she finally said, ‘What if we open a pie and coffee shop?’”
Within just three days of getting the idea to open a business, Elston said they set their sights on the West Market Street space in Warren.
“It all happened so fast in that time,” she said. “I realized we’re not supposed to do pie and coffee, and that’s when the smoothies came in. Something I’m personally really passionate about is organic and non-GMO foods and avoiding certain oils. It is expensive to eat healthier, but if we’re not paying for that up front on our food, we’re definitely going to be paying for it later in our medical bills. So we are what we eat.”
Beautiful Whirl’d prioritizes using locally-sourced produce, ingredients and utensils, working with suppliers like Kaleel Bros Inc. in Youngstown, Scarpaci’s Wholesale Produce and A & N Restaurant Equipment in Warren.
“Over the years, we partnered with some of our more local food partners,” she said. “We have a lot of just die-hard fans, which we love. They’ve become part of our family here. We have great community support with our neighbors in all the courthouses and different businesses in the area with catering orders, like the Wean Foundation and BRITE, who are helping to incubate and bring education to businesses and nonprofits.”
Elston said she’s seen more of the Trumbull County community lean toward health-conscious choices over the last decade.
“We are very popular in the mental health world,, which makes sense, right? They care about their mind, but also, we are what we eat. It’s all part of that holistic healing,” she said. “A lot of teachers really order from us, and then we do doctor’s offices love us, so we have a great reward system.”
