CASCADE, Iowa — A new wellness center recently opened in the old Webber Metals building at 111 Adams St. in Cascade.

The name of this center, called Two of a Kind, comes from its owners, twins Ashley O’Meara and Amber Taft.

O’Meara described the services the center offers.

“Our main process with this is giving out nutritional calendars every week, doing weekly weigh-ins, weekly challenges, etc.,” she said. “It’s also a support system for everyone who’s joined. People can discuss things together, work through things.”

“A big part of it is accountability,” added certified fitness instructor Allie Aschtgen, who will teach fitness classes at the center. “A lot of people join because they need to know they have a support system that will actually listen and hold you accountable to help you reach your goals.”

According to O’Meara, the business grew out of her motivation to get healthier at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I started to get healthier and lose some weight, and I had people reach out to me asking me to help them,” she said. “My sister owned our previous business, and she wanted to make this into a big support group. From there, it just happened that we had 150-something people join us.”

O’Meara continued, “We had an office right across the street from the dentist office and started with three people wanting to join us. We got bigger and bigger and then we expanded to this building. We’re leasing the space.”

While the membership mainly consists of women, a few men also count themselves among the center’s users and mutual support group. O’Meara described what people who join can expect in the way of fitness experiences.

“We’re going to have a lot of classes, which Allie will be doing for us; we’ll be doing yoga; and we’ll be having equipment eventually once things get going,” O’Meara said. “We also have a walking track. Our program is based on steps, so I want that there for people to be able to walk.”