Joseph Tartakoff:
Sergio Freyer (photo) worked for Eastman Kodak before opening a Saladworks restaurant in Coral Gables 18 months ago.
Jeff Columbia traded municipal bonds on Wall Street; now he plans at least 2 Salad Creations restaurants in Naples and Sarasota.
Both men are seeking green in greens, and they’re not alone. Across South Florida, as many as 33 restaurants specializing in salads could sprout up over the next 3 years. It’s part of a national trend to capitalize on consumers’ desire for convenient but healthy food. The growth marks a resurgence for a business segment that floundered in the early ’90s.
At all the salad chains, the concept is basically the same: Customers wait as salads are prepared in front of them. For example, Freyer’s Saladworks on Miracle Mile looks like any other fast-food restaurant, with booths and chairs upfront and an ordering area in the back - except that the menu offerings can be mixed and dressed to order.
3 chains are moving into South Florida.
Salad Creations, based in Margate, is the largest locally, with eight locations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Jeff Levine, a Boca Raton businessman, started the company in 2003. ”I wanted something that more fit my lifestyle as I got older,” said Levine, who also helped start Lulu’s Bait Shack restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. In June, Salad Creations sold the development rights for Southwest Florida to Columbia, who could franchise as many as 25 Salad Creations locations over the next 7 years.
Levine said restaurants that have been open more than a year have posted double-digit sales increases. Sales range anywhere from $500,000 to $1.2 million per restaurant, and the chain plans to have 25 open by the end of the year, including 17 in South Florida.
Read more about Florida Expansion and how Others Are Catching On.
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