BEL AIR, MD — With a goal of helping Harford County residents gain easy access to healthy and convenient meals, Katie and Jason Davis decided to open The Lean Kitchen Company in Bel Air.
They officially opened their business Oct. 14 at 536 Baltimore Pike with the options of in-store pickup or delivery. There are 40 stores located across the U.S. with the Bel Air store being the first on the East Coast. The closest one happens to be eight hours away, Katie Davis said.
“We were looking to start a new business and this concept was appealing because nutrition and fitness are very important to us. We feel that meal prep is something more people would be interested in if there was an element of convenience. Additionally, there is not a similar concept in this area, so we feel that people will be excited to try it out,” she said.
After the height of the pandemic, Davis and her husband realized they needed to focus more on developing healthier habits.
“And that starts with nutrition,” she said. “This is nutrition made easy. Each meal features balanced macros with the nutrition facts right on the label. Ordering from Lean Kitchen takes the guesswork out of eating healthy and the online ordering and delivery option is the ultimate convenience. Our goal is to prove nutritious can be delicious.”
Currently, Jason Davis owns Route 24 Ale House in Bel Air and Katie works as a project manager for a corporate education company.
“We both intend to stay at our jobs while also working at Lean Kitchen with the help of our amazing staff,” Katie Davis said.
Fitness happens to be important to the couple, who enjoys participating in local races and belong to a CrossFit gym in Abingdon.
“Jason has done several long-distance runs, including a few marathons and two 50Ks. Most recently, we participated in the Baltimore 10-miler in June. We love hiking with our dogs, Mack and Macy, and enjoy taking them to the Ma & Pa Trail, Gunpowder and other local spots. We even ran a 5K with our dogs in 2020,” Katie Davis said.
The Lean Kitchen Company uses an offsite commissary kitchen in Aberdeen where employees cook all of their meals fresh and then take them to the storefront in Bel Air on Saturday mornings where customers can purchase them fresh out of the refrigerators. Customers can order the meals online by Thursday evening for the following week. Meals can be picked up the store or delivered to their home.
“Our meals are made locally and never frozen,” she said. “Another option is for individuals to stop by the store and pick out meals from the refrigerators. We also sell supplements at the storefront, such as protein powders, multi-vitamins, and pre-workout, as well as energy drinks, packaged snacks, apparel and more.”
Some of the more popular menu options include a chicken bacon ranch wrap, bang bang shrimp tacos, meatball mac and cheese, and honey garlic chicken and asparagus. We also have breakfast and dessert items, including overnight oats and Reeses protein donuts, and snacks, like our muscle bites that are so delicious, you would never guess they are actually good for you,” Davis Katie said.
To view menu items, additional products and order online, visit https://leankitchenbelairmd.bottle.com.