This story first appeared in The Daily Illini.
(Photo by Ruhi Haryadi/The Daily Illini)
It was winter break of freshman year, and Vidhi Chavda was back in her hometown of Bartlett, Illinois, after her first semester at the University. Chavda and her friends walked into Elevate — a health-conscious store where she had fallen in love with its sunset bowl and welcoming community.
In the store, a whiteboard read: In what city would you like to see another location? And just underneath, Chavda put a tally mark in Champaign.
A year later, she holds the keys to Green Street’s newest addition — Elite.
Vidhi Chavda is a sophomore in Engineering, pursuing a dual degree in mechanical engineering and innovation, leadership & engineering entrepreneurship while running her new business.
Chavda’s mission is to create a “nutrition club,” hoping to do more than just bring healthy food options to Campustown by having Elite double as a networking hub for students. She has computer science students working on her website, marketing students helping her with social media and computer engineers setting up the store’s loyalty system.
“If I can give students personal projects as well as help the business grow as well as help the resumes grow, it’s a win-win situation,” Chavda said.
Entrepreneurship isn’t new to the sophomore who grew up sitting behind the register of her father’s grocery store, learning the ins and outs of running a business.
“I’ve never been the sorority girl,” Chavda said. “I don’t really fit into organizations, it’s kinda not my thing — like even in high school, I was (part of) a photography club I started … it’s always been something that I started myself.”
Her family, especially her parents, has been a constant source of support through this process. When Chavda first came to them with the idea to open a business in Champaign, they didn’t dismiss it — instead, they asked her to explain everything to them. Her father was even at the very first meeting that Chavda had with her mentor and owner of Elevate, Tanya Johnson.
On opening day, 40 of her family members drove over four hours down to Champaign. Each family member took turns to buy something and congratulate her.
Chavda often finds ways to involve her loved ones. She even invited her friends to help paint the walls of the store before it opened.
During the official March 1 grand opening, over 250 people from the Champaign-Urbana community came in to support the new business owner. Since its opening, the community response has been overwhelming — the store is even starting to have regulars. The response to Vidhi and the impact of her story has been even greater.
“I’m like absolutely impressed,” said Saya Spells, sophomore in LAS and Elite employee. “It’s honestly kind of inspiring, like to be able to do this. It is a lot of hard work, but it makes me feel like maybe one day, if I would ever want to open a business, that it’s an achievable goal.”
The name of the store is inspired by March Madness. The Elite 8 basketball round in the NCAA tournament inspired Chavda, who was amazed at the crowds of excited people in the streets and fell in love with the energy. The word ‘elite’ stuck with her, and now it hangs on the front of her very own place.
The process of opening the store took 14 months. During this period, Chavda spent time getting the required permits, working with her mentor and even learning how to collaborate with an architect.
“She lived everything — from training (at Elevate), to finding a location, to setting up her shop to training employees,” Johnson said. “The most important piece of this journey is her.”
In an average week, Chavda spends every morning and most afternoons working at Elite, alongside attending her lectures. Her evenings are filled with meetings for her RSOs — Illinois Women in Engineering and Illini Solar Car.
“She definitely is always there for us, even if she’s not (at Elite), if we have a question, she’s basically always on call, ready to answer us,” said Carleigh Lazar, sophomore in AHS and another Elite employee.
The biggest expectation that Chavda has for her staff is to talk with customers and build personal relationships with them. She encourages her employees to ask engaging questions beyond routine “hello’s” in hopes that the store’s refreshing flavors and welcoming environment will brighten people’s day.
Chavda has always been hard-working, and that hasn’t changed in her years as a college student.
“In elementary school, she was like super nerdy,” said Samantha Blanchard, sophomore in Engineering and Chavda’s best friend. “(Now) she’s very motivated, still very smart.”
Chavda manages her time with a very colorful Google calendar and prioritizes work at the store and her academics above everything else. Elite is a physical representation of her hard work and commitment to achieving her goals.
“Seeing that someone so young can embark on this, I mean, there’s no limits to the people that she’s going to be able to inspire,” Johnson said.
A neon sign near the front of the store reads ‘Living the Elite Life,’ and that’s exactly what Vidhi Chavda is doing.
Anya Nair is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a staff writer for The Daily Illini.