Healthy, fast food fuels Omaha company's rapid rise

An Omaha company is working to revolutionize the way people eat on the go, and it’s now the fastest-growing business in its industry. Eat Fit Go, which opened in February, has now expanded to other states and is on track to open 80 more restaurants next year.

Updated: 2:10 PM CST Dec 24, 2016

Eat Fit Go, which opened in February, has now expanded to other states and is on track to open 80 more restaurants next year.

Sam Vakhidov is the 30-year-old co-founder, co-owner and CEO of the growing enterprise, where healthy, fast food is the whole concept.

“Not having a sit-down restaurant helps us pass down the savings to our customers. The idea is to make healthy food available and accessible to anybody in the country,” said Vakhidov.

Vakhidov said the business started in February with five employees. The company has now sold 700,000 meals.

They cost anywhere from $4 to $11, and customers can either eat them immediately, or keep them in the fridge up to seven days.

Eat Fit Go’s chief attitude officer, Erik Bird, walked us through the kitchen at the company’s headquarters near 137th and Giles.

“From the minute it gets cooked, it gets cooled, and it gets packaged the right way, which extends the shelf life,” Bird said.Here, staff put together more than 40 options, from kids’ meals to vegetarian dishes. They are made by high quality, well-trained, well-motivated people, Bird said.

“As you can see, they're moving fast. They have gloves on, aprons, they have hair nets, you know, so it is as clean as you can possibly get in here,” Bird said.In the next few weeks, Eat Fit Go will have nearly 20 restaurants across the region, employing 100 people.“It’s not different, we just get up to work. We don't work for money. We want to make a difference in somebody's life,” Vakhidov said.

The now multi-million dollar company plans to open 80 more locations next year. So what's the secret ingredient to all this success?“The right time, perfect market conditions, we do things right. We do basics right. Our marketing is on point, our stores are clean, our food is on point,” Vakhidov said.

So what’s next?

Eat Fit Go is working on becoming USDA certified, and rolling out a delivery and a mobile app.

Vakhidov says no matter what, headquarters will stay in Omaha.