GROWING GREEN: Salata owner Berge Simonian says he expects to have 20 locations by the end of the year. Seven of its current 13 restaurants are franchises, including this one, in Preston Center.
When Casie Caldwell decided to open Greenz in 2004, a restaurant consultant told her that a concept based on salads would never work. But when Caldwell conducted a focus group, she knew she had found an untapped niche.
“There was no science behind it, but I put a group together and said, ‘Where do you go when you want a good salad?’ And people just looked at me, dumbfounded,” Caldwell said.
She launched Greenz on McKinney Avenue in Uptown eight years ago. Today, she has three locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and she isn’t alone at the salad bar.
“A lot of people have entered this space, so I guess that consultant was wrong,” Caldwell said.
Greenz joins other concepts, including Salata, The Salad Stop and Snappy Salads, that have found a consumer base longing for healthy salad options, usually made to order. Greenz is among those that have found demand is high enough to spur expansion.
“So many people are struggling to make healthy choices, and I don’t think that’s a trend,” Caldwell said.
Greenz, which also has locations in Addison and inside the Equinox gym on Oak Lawn Avenue, plans to expand to Houston with its first franchise location. Franchisee Kimberly Tayloris finalizing her location with the help of Dallas-based SRS Real Estate Partners. She wants to open in the next six to nine months.
Other salad concepts have seen success with franchising. Houston-based Salata has 13 total locations, seven of which are franchised, including its three DFW spots.
Salata, which operates like a Chipotle, opened its first store in the tunnel systems of downtown Houston in 2005, and opened its first traditional location in Preston Center in 2007.
Salata plans to have 20 shops open by the end of the year, said CEO and owner Berge Simonian.
“Finally, our hard work is paying off, and people are finding out about it, and they want to join our system,” Simonian said.
Investment for traditional locations is between $300,000 and $400,000, Simonian said, and annual sales are about $1 million per location. Downtown locations, which are only open for lunch, have sales of $600,000, and can cost in the $200,000 range to open.
Salata, which also has restaurants in downtown Dallas and in Plano at the Shops of Legacy, is building out three new North Texas locations. Simonian said Salata will open in Addison at the beginning of September, Sundance Square in Fort Worth in mid-September and a second downtown Dallas location at the beginning of October.
“We have made a commitment to growth in the DFW area,” Simonian said.
Salata also is opening a second location in Los Angeles by the end of the year.
Simonian said the company is ripe for growth after seven years in the business. Salads also have become more acceptable, said Michael Mina, Simonian’s cousin and local franchisee of the downtown and Preston Center locations.
I think our customer base is really diverse,” Mina said. “I see elderly people, I see girls who are 12 or 13 years old, high school guys, all different nationalities.”
The need for fast, healthy eating options also has spurred growth, Mina said.
Salata and Greenz have been able to use nontraditional locations to their advantage, marketing their food for people on the run.
“It is also good to eat up in the office. It is not hot and messy, and you don’t get tired after you eat it,” said Mina, who is opening his second downtown Salata location.
Caldwell operates a roughly 500-square-foot Greenz in the posh Equinox gym. Her goal is to have 10 locations by 2014. A traditional Greenz runs between 1,400 and 2,200 square feet. Caldwell would not reveal sales numbers.
“We are looking at airports, food courts and large medical systems,” Caldwell said. “The nontraditional is a big part of our growth plans, and Equinox has been a great partner.”
Dallas-based The Salad Stop also touts its healthy food at a fast pace, and it plans to open two locations a year for the next two years.
Josh Knowles and his wife, Samantha, opened their first location in 2010 in Frisco after developing a business plan eight years earlier while in college. The Salad Stop opened a second location in Plano last month.
Knowles said the company has perfected its model and now is looking for franchisees. Chris Young of Dallas-based UCR Realty is helping The Salad Stop find locations for growth. The square footage of a The Salad Stop is between 2,700 and 3,000. Knowles invested $250,000 to open his newest location in Plano.
“We just have a lot more variety since we cook it fresh and it’s not a buffet,” said Knowles, whose restaurant also offers such items as ahi tuna, wraps and baked potatoes.
In fact, most of the salad concepts aren’t surviving on rabbit food alone.
To be fair, all of the concepts admit that the salads are still only as healthy as the customer makes them. Each also claims to be healthier than their competitors.
Salata makes all of its dressings in-house at a facility in Houston, consulting with a nutritionist, Simonian said.
The Salad Stop cooks its meats to order.
Greenz works with local farmers and uses organic ingredients.
While some concepts, including The Salad Stop, chop their lettuce in front of the customer and mix the ingredients together thoroughly, others, such as Greenz, make salads to serve.
I think our presentation really sets us apart,” Caldwell said. “When you set the salad in front of people, they will go, ‘Oh, that’s too pretty to eat.”
While salads may be catching on in DFW, across the country they are not the fastest growing restaurants. Nation’s Restaurant News and the National Retail Federation both conclude (in varying order) that the fastest growing chains are Cheddar’s Casual Cafe, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Jimmy John’s, Five Guys and BJ’s Restaurants. Panera Bread Co., which does have a selection of salads, is also in the top 15.