{Alumni St. Louis chef Eric Brenner}
Fit Fuel 365, a grab-and-go restaurant specializing in healthy prepared meals, quietly opened doors May 29 at 11742 Manchester Road in Des Peres. As reported by the St. Louis Business Journal, this is actually a resurgence of the Fit Fuel 365 brand; Ben Stratton opened an earlier iteration opened in Stratton’s Café in Clayton and Webster Groves in 2012. Stratton recently sold the concept to co-owners Michael Staenberg, Matt Handler and Jen Handler.
Jen Handler said Fit Fuel 365’s mission is “to make healthy eating, simple, delicious, affordable and convenient,” adding that the owners hope to expand quickly. This first location is the first of 12 retail stores in St. Louis, Handler said, with locations in Clayton, St. Charles and downtown St. Louis next in line and, eventually, national expansion.
The new owners have tapped Eric Brenner, general manager and executive chef at Alumni St. Louis, to create the menu of customizable meal plans designed to aid health and fitness goals. This latest venture is a natural fit for Brenner, who helped launched Bold Organics in 2012, a line of organic, gluten- and dairy-free frozen pizzas. The meals are prepared in the Alumni St. Louis kitchens, where Brenner said he and his team get a chance to create outside its usual routine. “I’m interested in how the food industry is evolving and how people’s wants and needs are evolving,” he said. “That’s why I was excited to be involved.”
Customers can stop by to grab breakfast, lunch or dinner, or they can plan out a program with a nutrition expert to create daily, weekly or 21-day meal plans. The meals, which will rotate seasonally, are designed to be less than 490 calories, gluten-free, contain no added salt or sugar and are cooked to retain nutrition and flavor.
Breakfasts include items such Pro-cakes made with egg whites, protein powder, Greek yogurt and oats; a traditional breakfast of Fit Fuel Eggs (one whole egg to every four egg whites), chicken sausage and roasted potatoes; and Eggs Rancheros with fajita-seasoned ground turkey, black beans, white corn, cheese and salsa.
Lunch includes protein-focused dishes like fajitas, quinoa bowls and brown rice bowls with chicken, steak, turkey, fish or tofu. Dinner entrees include Asian-inspired or bistro-style fare served with generous helpings of vegetables. Several snack options and additional sauces are available, too.
Fit Fuel 365 is open Sunday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Editor’s Note: This post originally stated that Fit Fuel 365 is located in Creve Coeur. It has been updated to its correct location, Des Peres.
This article appears in June 2014.