Our friendly, knowledgeable staff prides itself in providing the finest service possible to our customers. We would like to introduce them to you:
Buster Beaton (Owner)
Buster Beaton and his late wife, Judy, began Nassau Health Foods in a tiny store front on South 8th Street over 25 years ago. Educated as a school teacher and coach, Buster still views the store as an extension of the classroom. Customers can come learn how to take responsibility for their own health while he encourages from the sidelines. Since Nassau Health Foods’ humble 600 sq. ft. building, Buster has continued to focus on his customers’ well-being. His passion for natural foods and concern for the health of his community is what got Buster going and it’s what keeps Nassau Health Foods growing today.
Andrea Carter-Hargett (Store Manager)
Nassau Health Foods is pleased to welcome Andrea Carter-Hargett as our store manager. Andrea is a military brat who has an extensive background in natural foods. She cut her teeth in the industry in the Whole Foods’ Sweet Dreams Cafe in Austin Texas. Then she moved on to management positions with Wild Oats stores in Oregon. Most recently Andrea worked in Miami as a sales representative with a major natural foods distributor. Andrea is looking forward to enjoying the island lifestyle and spending more time with her family – her sister Stephanie works in our Mustard Seed Cafe!
Linda Boatright (Senior Associate)
Linda Boatright has been assisting customers at NHF for over ten years. Born in Indiana,
she moved to the area at 13. Over the years, Linda has been involved in every facet of store operations
and now helps manage our day to day activities. She credits NHF with helping her learn a healthy
lifestyle and in turn enabling her to positively influence friends and family. Linda’s favorite pastime is
spending time with her husband Curtis, a native islander, and if at the beach, all the better!
Jeannie Langley (Produce Manager)
Jeannie Langley is originally from the Carolina low country and a 15 year Amelia Island
resident. A mother of four, Jeannie loves to sail, stay actively involved in her church and serve as a
resource for our customers. Jeannie has helped teach our raw food classes and as our Produce Manager
is responsible for the wonderful variety of beautiful, organic produce found daily at NHF.
David Murray (Associate)
The natural food bug hit David early. At age 18, he and a couple of friends read Paul Bragg’s, The Miracle of Fasting and launched into a “back to earth” lifestyle. But after 10 years of strict meal planning it was time to move on and David ended up as a claims manager for an insurance company. That experience solidified his belief in the natural foods lifestyle and his “back to earth” roots. In his spare time David enjoys reading, hiking, and painting.
Ryan Haley (POS Manager)
Ryan is a Northwest Florida native, lured to Amelia Island by his love of surfing. Prior to arriving on Amelia, Ryan served four years in the Marine Corps. His interest in video editing led him to build his own computers and study Computer Engineering and pursue a B.S. degree in IT Management from Florida State College. Ryan manages our POS system and still finds time to surf the north end of the island.
Denise (Associate)
Denise is a Maryland native and mother of 4 whose interest in natural foods dates back to her college days where she studied psychology. Since college, she has reset General Nutrition Center stores, taught sales techniques, and sharpened her customer service skills with a 10 year stint working for the Ritz Carlton. Denise’s outside interests include music, reading, and puppetry arts. In 1996, her marionettes decorated the Christmas tree in the White House Blue Room.
Ashley Arnett (Associate)
Originally from Jacksonville, Ashley has been foraging for food in health food stores from an early age. She enjoys yoga, organic gardening in our sandy soil, hiking and kayaking. You’ll find Ashley to be an enthusiastic and eager natural foods ambassador and representative of our store.
Shannon Kelley (Associate)
Born in Colorado and raised in California, Shannon got sand in her shoes about seven years ago and relocated permanently to Amelia Island. A longtime customer, Shannon decided that since Nassau Health Foods was such a fun place to shop then it must also be a fun place to work – a decision we’re glad she made. In her spare time Shannon enjoys teaching yoga, volunteering at our local Boys and Girls Club, and organic gardening.
Shelby Burnsed (Associate)
Having lived here most of her life, Shelby has the distinction of being “nearly a native”. She became a vegetarian at age 8 after washing the family dishes following a meatloaf dinner. Shelby’s decision to avoid eating meat was more recently reinforced after viewing the movie “Forks Over Knives”. Shelby attends FSCJ where she’s majoring in nutrition. When not studying and working Shelby enjoys yoga, mountain biking, surfing, and spin class…whew!
