New Ford Road meals-to-go business offers fresh approach

Healthy, low-cost meals draw growing customer base to Canton site

Everything about the new Ford Road-based Primealete Nutrition Canton screams “Fresh!” – from the protein-rich food it offers, to its unique and efficient business model, to the uplifting personality of owner Lina Alyaqoobi, who moved to southeast Michigan from war-town Iraq when she was 20 years old.

Since it opened in January 2022, Primealete Nutrition Canton (located at 44205 Ford Road) has generated rave reviews from customers, revealed Alyaqoobi, the mother of two young children who is studying to become a dentist at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.

“I was a client before I became the owner of this location (and a soon-to-open site in Ann Arbor),” Alyaqoobi said. “I found it amazing how the food was so delicious and nutritious and the meals are very inexpensive.

“I feel good about this business because we work with our clients and help them create plans that work for them and their budget. Our meals are never frozen and there are no preservatives added.”

Alyaqoobi said the bond with her clients is forged quickly — so much so that many customers walk in, register how many meals they’re taking and walk out, all within a few minutes time.

“It’s a very efficient, friendly process,” she said. “By the third time they visit us we usually know the names of their kids and dogs.”

Customers can purchase one pre-made meal ($6) or sign up for a variety of prepaid packages that range from five meals ($27) to 420 meals. The larger the meal package purchased, the lower the per-meal price.

“Our most popular plan is the 100-meal plan,” Alyaqoobi said. “It’s $359, so basically you’re getting 100 nutritious meals for $3.59 each. Customers who subscribe to a multiple-meal plan – let’s say the 100-meal plan – can pick up as many as they’d like on any given day. We don’t expect them to take all 100 at the same time.”

Premealete offers approximately 20 different meals every day that are delivered to the store fresh each morning.

“Our most popular meal is probably the barbecued-chicken meatballs (which comes with rice and mixed vegetables), but people seem to like all of our meals,” Alyaqoobi noted.

Alyaqoobi’s ambition to become a difference-maker materialized at a young age in a section of Iraq where she was home-schooled to avoid the ever-present danger that lurked on the streets outside her home.

“My mom recently sent me a picture of a desk I used to study at as a young child and I had written on it ‘Dr. Lina Alyaqoobi’,” she said, smiling. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a passion to give back and help my community whatever way I could. Becoming a dentist has been a dream of mine for a long time.”

Alyaqoobi said her medical background is perfect for her ownership position with Primealete because she can assist customers who may have specialized dietary needs.

“I know what food can do to your body,” she said. “We’ve had cancer patients come in who are not sure what they can eat or not eat, so I help them create a plan.”

Whatever Alyaqoobi is doing is working.

“The owner of the company said he has never seen a store grow in its first six months like we have,” she shared. “What we’re doing here feels right because we’re helping people eat healthier at an affordable cost.”

To learn more about Primealete’s Canton location, visit www.primealetecanton.com or call 734-431-3045.

If you have a story idea for SocialHouseNews.com, contact Editor-In-Chief Ed Wright at edwright@socialhousenews.com or 734-664-4657.