True Food Kitchen, seen here in Scottsdale, is expanding to Tucson and will be open next year.

 Courtesy of True Food Kitchen

Fifteen years after the first True Food Kitchen opened in Phoenix, Tucson is getting an outpost of the wellness-focused restaurant inspired by Dr. Andrew Weilβ€˜s anti-inflammatory food pyramid.

But we will have to wait until next fall before the restaurant opens at La Encantada.

Owners Centerbridge Partners is building out the nearly 3,700-square-foot space with an additional 1,500 square feet of patio dining, said True Food Kitchen Marketing Director Christine Ferris.

The Foothills location comes 15 years after Weil, a Tucson-based integrative medicine guru, teamed up with Sam Fox in 2008 to open the first True Food Kitchen in Phoenix. In 2012, the pair sold majority ownership of the concept to Scottsdale-based P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, which was acquired by Centerbridge that same year. At the time, there were four locations β€” two in Arizona and two in California.

There are now 43 locations in 17 states including New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. In September, True Food announced it had received more than $100 million in investments largely from two β€œmission-aligned” investors β€” Manna Tree and HumanCo, whose key investors include the pop star Nick Jonas and his actress wife Priyanka Chopra.

True Food Kitchen is a wellness-focused restaurant inspired by Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory food pyramid.

True Food Kitchen’s menu is drawn from Weil’s hugely popular anti-inflammatory food pyramid that promotes healthy lifestyles through healthy eating.

β€œThe appeal is that guests can essentially order anything they want to order at a traditional American restaurant but just make it really healthy. It tastes great and the flavor isn’t lost, but what you are getting is something that’s really good for you,” Ferris said.

The menu at True Food Kitchen includes roasted acorn squash flatbread and edamame dumpling appetizers, chicken sausage pizza, turkey and grass-fed beef burgers among the sandwiches and entrees including a poke bowl with wild-caught tuna.

The restaurant uses organic products when possible and ingredients known to fight off inflammation including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, plant-based proteins and high-quality grass-fed and grass-finished beef, she said. Chicken is sourced from producers who don’t use hormones or antibiotics, and fish is fresh caught.

The nearly 3,700-square-foot True Food Kitchen in Tucson, as seen in this rendering, will have an additional 1,500 square feet of patio dining.

The menu includes roasted acorn squash flatbread and edamame dumpling appetizers, chicken sausage pizza, turkey and grass-fed beef burgers among the sandwiches and entrees including pan-seared sea bass and a poke bowl with wild-caught tuna.

True Food also serves a tightly curated beer and craft cocktails menu featuring several infused with herbs and aromatics including cucumber, chai spice and fresh fruits.

β€œWe are very excited to be going down to Tucson not only because people support Dr. Weil, but also because they are aligned with our brand and taking care of their bodies,” Ferris said.

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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch