East Valley gym owners opening Arizona’s 1st Mahana Fresh restaurant next door

The owners of The Shop Gym in Mesa are opening the state’s first Mahana Fresh, a health-forward restaurant chain, beside the fitness facility later this year.

Jason Albrecht, Ryan Lloyd and Scott Rogers opened the gym, located near Gilbert Road and Southern Avenue, in 2017 and saw an opportunity to further their mission to help people get healthier when the space next door became available.

“Fitness and health food go hand in hand,” Albrecht said in a news release. “There is not enough of it out there and we want to help people. A heathy body is a healthy mind, and a healthy diet helps connect the body and the mind.”

The restaurant’s menu will consist of customizable bowls, wraps and smoothies. Additionally, it expects to cover a full range of protein and macro needs, partner with other fitness facilities to offer discounts and cater events.

It will be more than 2,700 square feet and have indoor and outdoor seating.

“This is not a hole in the wall restaurant. Mahana Fresh is a lifestyle, with vibrant colors and smiles,” Albrecht said. “Customers will walk into a lively experience, with nothing less than fresh food, great taste and a beautiful space. If you are worried about your calories, we have you covered.”

The gym’s Virginia locations offer outside meal prep for members. So, the owners saw owning the eatery as a way to have a direct hand in the quality and variety offered to their Arizona visitors.

The owners bring three different types of backgrounds to their businesses. Albrecht worked in the bar industry, personal training and as a firefighter. Rogers has a career in producing events and shows, and Lloyd has leadership and hands-on operating experience.

They expect the restaurant to get a good response from the community due to the gym having already been operating within it for years.

“We already have roots with The Shop Gym and we have met many gym goers, friends and family,” Albrecht said. “Good energy and good people are contagious. This will spread.”

The eatery’s opening data and operating hours have not been announced yet.

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