Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeana Penny.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was in education for 23 years before I retired to run Lean Kitchen. My husband stayed on as a Captain with the Fire Department in sulphur springs to keep a steady income until we could get on our feet at the store. We opened our doors in march of 2024 and he was able to retire with 22 years of service this past July 25′.
What lead us to LK.? I was ready for a change and had told my husband that I wanted to open a meal prep. He agreed and so we started to look for a franchise. We knew that a franchise was the best way to get the support from the beginning. I set up 3 calls with 3 different companies. After the 1st call with LK, I canceled with the other 2 and we knew that Lean Kitchen was the best fit for us!. My husband and I have always struggled with our weight so having fresh, healthy meals that could help us and help other people with the same struggles was the biggest deciding factor.
We decided that our home town was not the right fit for a LK location so we spent months trying to find the right place for us. We landed on McKinney because we loved the area and love the home town feel. Everything just fell into place. We moved to McKinney in June of 23′ and we started the construction process with the expected opening day in October. We had several delays and we didn’t open our doors until March. We have grown our business and it has been amazing to see the progression. We are extremely involved in the Community with the McKinney Chamber.
We have earned the Best Health and Nutrition Store in 2025 and I, Jeana, was name the McKinney Chamber’s Ambassador of the year for 2025. We love being involved and we love McKinney. Our customers are amazing and very supportive.
We have a great staff that has helped us grow our business to what it is today. .
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We are a small business, there are struggles daily. Big box competition, online competition etc. We have to compete with everyone that wants to be in the prepared meals game.
Customer service is what stands us apart from everyone else. The experience people get with they come in our store is like no other experience. Our motto, EVERY CUSTOMER, EVERY DAY. Everything we do is for our customers, their health and happiness is our #1 goal. We know we can’t make everyone happy and not everyone will like our food but we give 110% every single day. Those that know us, know we care about every single person that walks through our door. We take everything personally. This is our livelihood, success and growth is a non-negotiable.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Jeana Penny….23 years in education. When I retired, I worked as a high school counselor. I LOVED my job but I was looking for a change. Retired in May of 23.
Chris Penny…22 years in the Fire Service. Served as a Captain before he retired in July of 25.
We have 3 children. Bryce, works for us. Emmy, College student at University of Mississippi, Dax is the youngest.
Now we have the opportunity to grow our business together. We work 7 days a week but it is all worth it to see this business grow and evolve. We also have 2 vending coolers that we serve our meals and we are in the works to have 3 more this year.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Health and Nutrition is at the forefront of US. People are busy too.
Our industry is growing because people want to focus on their health but spending hours meal prepping isn’t always in the cards. That is where we come in! Whatever that looks like, from breakfast, lunch, dinnrs and supplements. Lean Kitchen is a one-stop shope for health and nutrition. Our storefront manager, Chris and myself are all nutrition coach certified so we can help people with meal plans. The best part, we just make healthy eating easy. We are like a homemade meal without having to do any work. Just heat and eat.
High protein, balanced and proportioned for simple healthy eating!
Pricing:
- Bakery 9.50
- Chicken, Turkey, Pork 11.50
- Beef/Steak/Shrimp 12.50
- premium options 13.50
- XL options 16.50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.leankitchenco.com/mckinney
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leankitchenmckinney/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leankitchenmckinney
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lean-kitchen-mckinney-3?osq=Lean+Kitchen
