Houston-based Salata, the fast-growing custom salad and salad wrap chain with 53 locations throughout Texas, California, and Illinois, is set for restaurant growth by reinstating its franchising program, implementing restaurant designs, and opening a new headquarters. The announcement comes after a two-year franchising hiatus as Salata experienced tremendous growth and success among franchise restaurants.
Having almost doubled its number of franchise locations since 2013, Salata aims to open an additional 500 locations within the next five years starting with the following markets: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Rio Grande Valley, Lubbock, and Amarillo, Texas; Los Angeles; and Chicago, followed by Phoenix, Atlanta, Oklahoma, and Florida. The franchise program expansion will propel new market growth for Salata in areas where fresh, customizable salads, and salad wraps restaurants may not be readily available.
According to Mintel’s February 2016 Fast Casual report, 2016 is the year for vegetables, and consumers are looking for healthful items at fast casuals more than in the past and want to see fresh, nutritional ingredients. This indicates a whitespace for fast casual salads to grow, especially because no one brand dominates the market.
“It’s an exciting time for Salata to take the lead in the fast casual salad space,” says Salata founder and CEO Berge Simonian. "We want to be known as the premiere custom salad and salad wrap chain in Texas and beyond. We are confident we can achieve this goal with the right partners. Therefore, we are excited to welcome new franchisees to the Salata family and look forward to expanding fresh, healthy dining options to guests at new locations.”
The new franchise program requirements include multiunit restaurant experience, store opening requirements and an increase in liquid assets. Details include:
- Individuals must have multiunit restaurant experience with a minimum of $5 million in annual revenue.
- Five-store agreement to be built out in three years (1/2/2).
- Access to $500,000 investment capability or net worth and $200,000 in liquid assets per location.
In addition to program requirements, Salata has made changes internally, including a revamped dining experience and a new headquarters that will be attractive for new franchisees.
