Travis Hunter and his wife, Jacqueline, promote healthy living in both their careers and personal lives. When the couple recognized how much of their time was being spent meal prepping, they knew others wanting to eat healthy probably experienced the same.
 
That passion and predicament translated to the opening of a Healthy James franchise, at 5424 Oleander Drive, Suite 1, with the help of franchise developer Greg George.
 
“I met with [Greg] … and loved the concept, loved the brand, the founders and just had an intuition that this was absolutely the right thing for us to be getting involved in,” said Travis Hunter.
 
The Hunters and partner Doug Messina strongly believe in nutrition as a prime source for health and wellness, and Healthy James provides customers with nutritious, fresh meal options handmade by chef Wendell Williams from quality ingredients.
 
“Everything is cooked fresh on-site,” Travis Hunter said. “What makes us unique is we’re providing chef-inspired, chef-prepared meals with the freshest and highest-quality ingredients.”
 
Using grass-fed beef, wild-caught seafood, sous vide chicken and organic produce when available, Williamson prepares food on Saturdays for preorders and walk-in customers throughout the week. Hunter purchases local ingredients as often as possible and is always looking for local partners for additional sourcing.
 
Meal options include breakfast, signature dishes, keto, paleo, vegan and fit meals, which are the least caloric.
 
“All meals are macro-based with full nutrition labels and are dated backed on when they were prepared,” Travis Hunter said.
 
The primary methods of purchasing at Healthy James include online preorders, a discounted subscription service and walk-in customers looking for a grab-and-go meal or snack from the six stocked coolers on-site.
 
Online preorders must be placed by Thursday evening, the week before meals are requested. Preorders can be picked up at the store or request delivery. There is discounted pricing for customers who utilize the weekly subscription service.
 
“We’ll deliver to businesses as well; we have a couple clients who like to make sure their fridges are stocked with healthy options for their employees,” Travis Hunter said. “We’re open to more collaboration with businesses to provide healthy meal alternatives for the health and wellness of their employees.”
 
Along with meal selections, Healthy James offers made-to-order protein smoothies and smoothie bowls made with organic fruit and no artificial preservatives; sugar-free, organic wellness teas packed with micro-nutrients; and organic, fresh in-house cold-brewed coffee. Travis Hunter is also bringing in cauliflower-crust pizzas this week.
 
For those with a sweet tooth, Healthy James sells sugar-free desserts and protein bars made by partner company Protein Snack Shop.
 
As business picks up, Travis Hunter anticipates a recook day in the middle of the week to ensure the coolers stay stocked with the freshest options.
 
“One thing that makes us unique is we’re not trying to be in the frozen food market,” he said. “We believe that quality taste is best when it’s fresh from the fridge.”
 
Healthy James is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and just switched its Sunday hours to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.