ASHLAND — Ashland’s Camp Landing just got a healthy, tasty option. Loco Fresh opened its doors on Oct. 1. The veteran-owned company is serving up freshly diced fruit cups and salads.
The shop is owned by Jonah Mathis and Jeremiah Raymond and operated by Sam McGuffin.
“My partner Jeremiah is a Marine Corps veteran and I was a Huntington police officer before I did this. This is the first business we had owned. We started Loco Fresh in May of last year as a wholesale produce shop on 7th Street in West Huntington. People would come in wanting to try things and we would cut up fruit and start making fruit cups. People would say ‘this is delicious. I don’t want to buy a whole watermelon. I wish I could just buy a cup of fruit from you guys.”” So we thought we could make a whole business around this,” Mathis said. “We came in here at Camp Landing one weekend. We knew about the place and the vision of what they wanted to accomplish here. We saw a sign that said they had some space available. So we made a phone call and we arranged a couple of meetings from there. We brought in samples and went over our numbers. They were on board with us being the healthier alternative here.
“It took us about two weeks to open this store from when we signed the lease. There used to be a pizza place in this location in the Kyova Mall, and when we got here, there was all kinds of old pizza oven equipment we had to move out.
“We are a very cookie-cutter type store. All we really do is cut-up fruits and vegetables, so we don’t really need a lot of equipment for it.”
Customers can choose from a variety of different fruit cups for $7.45 like the “Cali-Fresh,” which has pineapple, mango, orange, strawberry, lime juice and Tajin seasoning. There’s also the “El Jefe,” which has watermelon, pineapple, bananas, strawberries, whipped cream chocolate sauce and sprinkles. There is also a special fruit cup of the month like the “Trick or Treat,” which has apples, bananas, caramel, pumpkin spiced whipped cream and graham crackers.
There’s also an assortment of salads for $9, such as “The OG Salad,” which has iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, black olives, croutons, pepperoncini, and Parmesan cheese. There’s also a “Classic Chef” salad and a “Loco Chicken” salad. You can wash down your meal with a freshly made lemonade ($4) or pineapple water ($4).
“We try to have something for everyone. Some people can’t have dairy, for instance, so we always have two cups without any kind of cream. Our most popular cup by far is ‘The Madagascar.’ It has strawberries, pineapple, banana, whipped cream, peanuts and chocolate. It’s sort of like a deconstructed banana split,” Mathis said. “My favorite cup is the ‘El Jefe,’ which for those who don’t speak Spanish means ‘The Boss.’ It’s got all of your favorite fruits topped with sprinkles, whipped cream and chocolate. We order a lot of our fruits through Brown’s Food Service in Louisa, and we try to source as much of our product as we can locally.”’
Camp Landing will be hosting a safe Trick or Treat event from 6-8 pm on Thursday, Oct. 27. There will be a Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 29 starting at 9 pm
Loco Fresh is located in the food court of Camp Landing next to The Watering Hole at 10699 US Route 60. It is open from 11 am until 8 pm Monday through Friday and 11 am until 10 pm Saturday. Sunday hours are from noon until 8 pm Cash, Apple Pay, and all major credit cards are accepted. For specials, follow Loco Fresh on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SKHuntington20455thAvenue. For a full menu, visit www.locofreshproduce.com/.