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Founder of Austin-based My Fit Foods arrested with cocaine

Mario Mendias was arrested at the W hotel in downtown Austin.

Photo courtesy of My Fit Foods

KVUE — The owner of Austin-based company My Fit Foods was arrested Monday night at the W hotel for public intoxication and cocaine possession, according to a Travis County arrest affidavit.

According to the Austin Police Department, a call was placed around 2:30 am about a disturbance between a man and a woman at the W hotel in downtown Austin.

When police arrived at the scene, they found a security guard pinning My Fit Foods owner Mario Mendias, 39, to the ground by his wrists. The woman was already gone by the time officers arrived, according to the affidavit.

Mendias was upset and called the security guard a name, according to the affidavit. The security guard told officers Mendias struck him three times on the face with an open palm. Officers determined Mendias would continue to create disturbances and placed him under arrest for public intoxication, according to the affidavit.

A bag of cocaine was found on Mendias. He also told officers that he was the owner of My Fit Foods.

A representative of My Fit Foods has issued the following statement in regards to the incident: "Mr. Mendias maintains only a small minority interest in My Fit Foods and has not been involved in the company's day-to-day operations for more than a year ... As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment any further at this time."

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Read the full story on KVUE.com.

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hottest headlines of 2025

Austin's hottest city stories of 2025 track wealth and quality of life

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential

The final beam has been placed on top of Austin's Waterline tower.

Editor's note: As 2025 comes to a close, we're looking back at the stories that defined Austin this year, and the "city life" category is especially data-based. From taking a look at people's incomes to exploring new landmarks, Austinites are keeping tabs on many factors influencing local quality of life. Here's a look at the 10 hottest city life headlines of 2025.

1. 6 Austin billionaires join Musk and Dell on Forbes 400 list. Eight local billionaires landed on Forbes' list of the 400 richest Americans in 2025. America's wealthiest billionaires were $1.2 trillion richer in 2025, bringing their collective worth to a staggering $6.6 trillion.

2. Congested Austin highway dubbed a 'freeway without a future'. This report from Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) examined nine U.S. freeways where the infrastructure is "nearing the end of its functional life," including Austin's infamous I-35.

3. These are Austin's 4 safest suburbs in 2025, new report says. Four buzzy Austin neighbors – Cedar Park, Georgetown, Round Rock, and Taylor – unlocked spots in a SmartAsset ranking of the safest suburbs based on crime rates, traffic deaths, and drinking and drug habits.

4. New market opening in Dripping Springs with pizza, coffee, and music. Oakwood Public Market is now open, offering food, live music, retail, and more. The market is designed for guests to "linger, relax, and enjoy..." making it an easy place to show up without a plan.

5. UT Austin ranks No. 1 in Texas on new list of world’s best universities. UT Austin was No. 20 in the U.S. and No. 68 globally in QS World University Rankings 2026. Four more schools in the University of Texas system also make the list.

6. This is the income it takes to be middle class in Austin in 2025. Early in the year, an Austin household would need to make a minimum of $60,995 but no more than $183,002 to be considered "middle class." The median income of an Austin household was $91,501 in 2023.

7. Austin neighbor shines in the top 10 best place to live in the U.S. New for the 2025-2026 rankings, U.S. News expanded its coverage and updated its methodology based on five livability indexes: Quality of life, value, desirability, job market, and net migration.

Lots of people want to live in Leander. Leander Parks & Recreation/Facebook

8. Natural grocery store to close Austin location after store-wide sale. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. closed its location at the Shops at Arbor Walk (10515 N. MoPac Expressway) in October. The company could not come to an agreement about renewing its lease, but others in Austin will remain open.

9. Austin steals Houston's claim to the tallest tower in Texas. The title moves from Houston's JPMorgan Chase Tower to Austin's Waterline at 98 Red River St. The new tower will contain mixed-use spaces including apartments, offices, a hotel, restaurants, and retail. It is scheduled to open in full in 2026.

10. Austin suburb attracts one of the highest rates of new wealthy residents. This study found 19.3 percent of all Round Rock households made $200,000 or more in 2023, and added nearly 3,300 high-income earners during the one-year period: a growth rate of 45 percent.

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