EUSTIS, Fla. — Lake County entrepreneurs saw a need and decided to open their own commissary kitchen in Eustis. 

What You Need To Know

  • Entrepreneurs start commissary kitchen in Eustis

  • The kitchen gives residents, businesses place to prepare large quantities of food

  • The closest one, in Orlando, was not convenient for people in Lake County

  • The business is not a place to pick up food; it's for meal prep

Through Teresa Copley’s cooking, she and her husband Rick found a way to expand on their success as gym owners.

“We realized we could help more people outside the gym eat healthy,” Teresa said.

The couple cooked up the idea for The Fit Life Meals.

“It’s just exploded. People love it," Teresa said. "People love the convenience of being able to take out a healthy meal and not have to cook dinner.”

The meal-prep company quickly outgrew their own home, so they researched commissary kitchens and found the closest one wasn’t quite so convenient.

“We drove to Orlando, an hour drive there and hour drive back," Teresa said. "We packed up all our equipment, all our food, and it was time-consuming and really hard to do every week.”

That’s when the situation reached a boiling point, and the Copleys decided to open the Lake Commissary Kitchen. 

“We could see the vision right away,” Teresa said.

“People don’t come here to get food," Rick added. "People come here, businesses come here, to prepare food.”

Between Teresa’s cooking and Rick’s business background, they found the recipe for success. 

“We learned those lessons from our experience at the commissary down in Orlando, and now we’re bringing them here and hopefully serving people the right way, making them happy with what they have available here to grow their businesses,” Rick said.

They have all commercial-grade equipment available. Everything from large appliances, to pots, pans and utensils.

“We have prep areas," Rick said. "We have a beautiful convection oven, stove and, of course, all the freezers and refrigerators and what you need to store food.”

Now they’re ready for other caterers, bakers, food-truck vendors and more to join them in serving up local products. 

“Especially new entrepreneurs like us, to be able to have a facility where it’s not super-high cost, they don’t have to invest a lot of money,” Rick said.

“I’m hoping that this place is packed,” Teresa added.

Lake Commissary Kitchen held a grand opening this week and is open by appointment.