In 1997, two Bostonians had an innovative idea that met the needs of the new emerging consumer.

At the time, Tim Kurtz and his wife-to-be, Jolianna, were working as regional directors for Gold’s Gym. As Tim helped hundreds of people reach their fitness goals, he realized that there was a definite need for a high-quality sports nutrition store. Tim tapped Mike Gervais, creator of Flex Appeal fitness center, to become a partner in this endeavor. Thanks to the trio’s diligence and finger-on-the-pulse knowledge of the industry, Flex Appeal II developed a loyal cult following among fitness enthusiasts.

Jolianna, having grown up in the restaurant business, saw the need for a healthy restaurant that would serve mainstream, All American fare. A light bulb went off in Tim’s mind. He had an incredible idea! They would combine the two concepts and offer healthy and delicious fast food, with an in house retail nutrition center. Tim had the perfect food expert in mind, his gym buddy Chris Pappas, an innovative chef working at Harvard with a tremendous passion for cooking up wholesome, flavorful food. Tim approached Chris with his idea and the two-in-one concept was born with the opening of Lo Fat No Fat in Watertown, MA in 1999.

Five years of steady growth passed until one day, George Naddaff, franchising guru and founder of Boston Market, happened to be driving by the Watertown KnowFat! store. His curiosity was piqued by the long line curling out the door, so he pulled over to see what all the fuss was about. What he saw were people from all walks of life enjoying a wide variety of tasty, nourishing food like chicken meatball wraps, “AirFries™,” and fruit-filled smoothies. He was impressed not only by the number of customers and the taste of what he sampled, but also by the two-in-one restaurant-nutrition center. This was something unlike anything he’d ever seen!

As George built the company, he hired a team of experts to ensure his company’s success. Eric Spitz, joined the KnowFat team in 2004 as co-CEO from Trakus, a leading Boston based sports technology firm where he was CEO. In 2004, Gary Jacobus joined the management team as COO from the National Football League and mega sports agency IMG where he ran the worldwide corporate consulting practice.