Enquirer: Former UC frat brothers open health-focused café
UC engineering alumnus Chase Whitehead is a Cincinnati business owner
The Cincinnati Enquirer highlighted two University of Cincinnati alumni and their most recent business venture. Chase Whitehead, UC mechanical engineering ’12 and Brandon Cress, UC industrial design ’05, are former Bearcats turned business partners. The two opened their first Clean Eatz location in 2021. Clean Eatz is a café restaurant that provides healthy dine-in, grab ‘n’ go, and weekly meals to customers. The mission of the company is to promote personal wellness, something Whitehead values greatly.
After graduating from UC and working in industry for a few years, Whitehead opened several Orangetheory Fitness franchises in the Greater Cincinnati area. Cress’s sister was a manager at one of these locations and connected the two when Cress was looking into franchising in the health industry and wanted advice.
Whitehead’s experience with Orangetheory gave him confidence that Clean Eatz would succeed in the area. After being delayed by the pandemic, the two opened their first location in Newport in 2021. Across the nearly 100 Clean Eatz locations nationwide, the Bearcat alumni’s Newport location broke all year-one records. Customers came from neighboring cities to stock up on healthy meals.
“The problem solving, teamwork, and general common sense engrained in me from engineering school has helped me be successful in each of these business ventures,” Whitehead said.
As of this month, their second location on the West side is open and they hope to open a third in the Kenwood area.
Featured Image at top: Clean Eatz owners and UC alumni Chase Whitehead and Brandon Cress opened their second location in Cincinnati's west side in January. Photo/Phil Didion/The Enquirer.
Related Stories
Computer science student's color blindness inspires outfit matching app
May 14, 2026
Eric Langhorne, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati, has developed a smartphone application that tells users whether or not their clothes are a match. Langhorne has color blindness, so this is a question he often asks himself and was a challenge he wanted to address. This project was done through the Experiential Explorations Program (EEP).
Will a gas tax help lower prices at the pump?
May 14, 2026
WCPO recently reported on Kentucky and Indiana’s steps to combat surging gas prices, cutting and suspending state gas taxes, respectively. UC economist Michael Jones explained the impact on Cincinnati.
Is a colonoscopy painful?
May 13, 2026
The University of Cincinnati's Susan Kais, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the College of Medicine and UC Health gastroenterologist, recently appeared on the ARC Cincinnati morning program on Local 12/WKRC-TV to answer common questions from viewers about colonoscopies and to dispel myths.