Single mom’s Crest Hill meal-prep service celebrates 10 years

A single mother recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Crest Hill business she literally built from scratch.

Angie Aegerter is the owner of the Fit Foundation, a meal-prep company with more than 100 “clean-eating” recipes in rotation, along with healthy deli-style choices.

Still, she said the Fit Foundation wasn’t her dream.

“I fell into it,” Aegerter said.

‘What perseverance looks like’

A decade ago, Aegerter was raising three children ages 4, 11 and 13 – on her own and struggling to support her family as a real estate agent, she said.

So Aegerter renovated her three-car garage into a gym and earned her personal training license so she could train clients at home and be near her children, she said.

Then, a friend who owned a nutrition store in Joliet asked Aegerter to prepare food to sell in-store using store products.

Aegerter, who’d started cooking at age 14, briefly considered culinary school in her early 20s. But she rejected the idea.

“I’d always lacked self-confidence,” Aegerter said.

After Aegerter obtained the necessary licenses, someone offered her the commercial space of a former pizzeria in Marseilles for $500 a month – if Aegerter cleaned it up.

“I’d drop the kids off at school, work all day in Marseilles, then pick up the kids and do my personal training or real estate,” Aegerter said. “It took three months to renovate that kitchen. I did it all myself. It was just dirty and rundown from being empty so long. I scrubbed every inch – even the tile and walls. It took so long because I only had five, six hours before I had to turn around and come back.”

She let the real estate work go since she didn’t have time for three jobs, she said.

“I was barely making it, even with real estate and personal training,” Aegerter said. “And I just wanted a better life for me and the kids.”

With a “do-or-die” mindset, Aegerter said, she spent the next 14 months preparing food, “as much food as I could,” in Marseilles to sell at the Joliet nutrition store.

“It was a huge opportunity for me to be allowed that, especially since I had no restaurant experience. I went into this cold turkey,” Aegerter said. “But I believe it’s the door God opened for me. And I’m just very grateful and thankful.”

The nutrition store was near the former Great American Bagel in Joliet, which is how Aegerter met her mentor, Tom Grotovsky, who owned the Joliet franchise and now owns The Curator’s Cafe in Joliet.

Grotovsky encouraged Aegerter to join the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which she did.

Joliet chamber President Jen Howard said Aegerter is “amazing” for building a sustainable career in the food industry.

“I think she is one of the hardest workers and owners I have ever met,” Howard said. “She really just shows what perseverance looks like and the dedication you need when you’re a small-business owner. And it paid off for her.”

Commitment to her mission

Aegerter said she opened her own location in Crest Hill when she realized most of her nutrition store customers were not bodybuilders but “non-gym people” who simply wanted to eat healthier and didn’t have the time or knowledge for it.

“The first five years were the scariest,” Aegerter said. “People would come in here and say, ‘You know, most businesses don’t make it a year.’”

Aegerter said Grotovsky “taking me under his wing a little bit” greatly contributed to her success.

“I admire him very much,” Aegerter said. “He’s kind, humble. He’s honestly one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. And he treats everyone that way.”

Grotovsky said Aegerter is “a true friend in the business.” They still trade food samples, elevate each other and celebrate their wins.

“I respect her for what she did – a female business owner who put every effort into her business while raising her family," Grotovsky said. “This is a woman who should be proud of what she’s accomplished so far.”

Business steadily increased – even during the COVID-19 pandemic – and then dropped the last two years – enough that she considered closing her doors, Aegerter said.

But business picked up when Aegerter introduced healthy deli-style sides.

During the holidays, Aegerter also prepared more than 70 Thanksgiving dinners for Joliet police and 90 Christmas dinners for Joliet and Crest Hill police thanks to donations from the community.

This is why Grotovsky calls Aegerter “a leader” and “an asset to Crest Hill.”

“She’s risen up against everything that’s gone against her,” Grotovsky said. “She deserves all the recognition she receives.”

The Fit Foundation is located at 2209A Plainfield Road in Crest Hill.

For more information, visit Fitfoundation4u.com or call 815-582-4055.