TWIS Asks: Greg Gentile of Get Fit Fuel

With a busy or unpredictable schedule, nutrition and fitness are often the first areas of a person's life to suffer. But with the introduction last year of Get Fit Fuel, that excuse is no longer valid.

With locations on Siesta Drive and in Lakewood Ranch, the store offers portioned meals for pickup or delivery as well as nutritional counseling. After the success of the store's first two locations, owner, Greg Gentile, is gearing up to open a third location June 9, at 539 S. Washington Blvd.

We caught up with Gentile to get the skinny on the new location.

Tell me how you first came up with the idea for Get Fit Fuel.

When I first got divorced, I was eating out a lot. I've seen how our food has changed in a bad way, so this spawned out of something I personally wanted. I wanted grass-fed beef or good chicken, and I wanted portioned meals, but I wanted it on the go, because I have a really busy schedule.

I'm the type of guy, who, if I order a pizza, I'll eat the whole thing. I've never had a weight problem, but I'll eat whatever is in front of me, and I learned that if that's at a restaurant, it's likely at least double the portion you're supposed to have.

So this was really all modeled after a product that I personally wanted. I also own a food service company, so I already had all the contacts and the produce. I thought, "I'm going to do this."

What kind of demand did you see for this? Obviously you weren't the only one looking for something like this.

Exactly. I knew I couldn't be the only one with a busy life who still wanted to eat well. I have at least two dozen clients who have lost tons of weight since eating our food, and some of them eat exclusively our food.

How has the business grown since you started it?

We've tried to accommodate our customers' demands. Ive been a juicer for a while, and I know what a pain it can be to do yourself, so we decided to add juices to our menu. Another big thing for us is for every menu item to have as few ingredients as possible. I'm always tweaking the recipes to see what we can cut or replace with something healthier. We used to use light mayonnaise, but now we make it ourselves, with as few ingredients as possible, and we do the same thing with our barbecue sauce.

When did you decide to open the new location? Will it be different in any way?

Our other locations have done really well, and it's been mostly by word of mouth. They took a while to build a following, but we've gained loyal customers at both stores. This location will be great, because it's right on 301, and it's really visible. I think within a month of it opening, most of the people in the area will be aware of it. I wanted to do a coffee bar in there, too, so we're working on that. It might not be ready when we first open, but we'll have different coffee options for people who want their morning coffee and maybe a little protein.

How do you develop your recipes?

I've never been a big cook — I'm what I call a date-cooker. If I have a date, I can find a recipe and buy all the ingredients and make it, but otherwise, I'm not cooking. So, I have a chef, Dan Noble and a raw chef, Karen Noble, and they're great. We have hundreds of recipes that we're constantly modifying, based on customer demand.

What's your favorite item on the menu?

I love the Spicy Mustard Grilled Chicken. It's not very popular yet, but I think it will be soon.

You say you were never a big cook — what's the most surprising thing you've learned about food along the way?

I think I was just surprised to learn how unhealthy our food is in general, and that our government really doesn't seem to  care. It's not right. You really just have to do your own research, because you can't even trust the labels on the food. You have to be suspicious of everything.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

It doesn't feel like work at all. Every day, I can't wait to make Get Fit Fuel better, whether it's the food, the juice or the service. I spend almost all of my time at one of the stores, and I eat our food about 98% of the time. I live on it. I really just enjoy taking care of the customers. If you do that, everything else will fall in place.