A few weeks ago, the former McDonald’s at 16th and Mission Streets got a new tenant—meal delivery, takeout and dine-in service Mealmade, where every dish is gluten-free, made to order, and cooked with healthy fats.

When we interviewed owner Jeff Nobbs at one of the old children's tables left behind by the previous tenant, he reflected on his first visit: “When our chefs and I first toured this place, we walked out, started cracking up, and said, ‘are we really going to take over a McDonald’s’?'” 

While the dining area still has a Golden Arches feel, Nobbs said he plans to eventually change that up. So far, most renovations have occurred in the kitchen, where a freezer has been converted into a fridge that helps store all of Mealmade’s fresh produce. 

Ironically, some of the old stickers for bacon bits, hash browns and other heavily processed items still remain on the walls. Instead, the shelves now hold boxes of organic heirloom tomatoes, fresh mushrooms and tortillas made with cassava and almond flour. 

Mealmade brought in its own equipment, including stoves as well as deep fryers that cook with sustainably sourced organic palm oil, “instead of the old, oxidized soybean oil that most restaurants use,” said Nobbs.

The new Mission locale is Mealmade’s third move since its inception. The company started out in SoMa in 2015 and later moved to 613 York St. in the Mission, where it shared a space with Wholesome Bakery, another gluten-free establishment.

Its new home is three times the size of their previous location. Situated next to a major transit hub, Nobbs said he likes that it gets a lot of foot traffic.

Customers who order online may opt for delivery or pick up and will receive an ETA. In-person orders are ready in about 10 minutes, since everything is made from scratch, Nobbs said.

Because many of Mealmade’s customers have autoimmune conditions, Celiac disease, or are on restrictive diets for other reasons, the company's focuses on transforming comfort food into something “healthy and delicious," said Nobbs. While the menu changes daily, it offers some rotating items. Nobbs said that their fried chicken, breaded in almond flour, is a popular item, as is the orange chicken.

“When I think of orange chicken, I think of going to Panda Express in college and stuffing my face with unhealthy food that tasted really good. So we recreated that dish but we make it with coconut flour, serve it with cauliflower rice and cook it in healthy fats. It’s also local, free range chicken,” he said.

While this is Nobb's first food venture, he co-founded a company a decade ago as a college student. After selling that business and working in China for a few years, he founded Mealmade after returning to the US. He said a longtime interest in healthy food, along with his background in tech and commerce helped his idea come to fruition.

Head chef Scott Wiese (formerly of Orson, Starbelly, and Firefly) was a a Mealmade customer when he met Nobbs, who visited Wiese’s house and noticed that his shelves were stacked with books about paleo, low-carb, and gluten-free diets.

I was “sold after seeing that,” Nobbs said.