Salad-Bar Franchise Posts Sales Records in 2022
Celebrating 10 years of serving healthy foods in a hurry, the Salad Station franchise announces that it will soon open seven new locations. The franchise – known for its farm-fresh gourmet ingredients in customized salads priced by the pound – also has celebrated hefty sales gains in 2022. Monthly sales records were set in April and May 2022, and the brand is on pace to exceed 13% same-store sales growth this year.
Based in Hammond, La., Salad Station began franchising in 2015 and currently has 26 restaurants. Within the next year, new Salad Station franchises are scheduled to debut in Jonesboro, Ark., and Clarksville, Tenn.; Madison and Oxford, Miss.; Irving, Texas; Riverview, Fla.; and Prairieville/Gonzales, La.
Winning Formula for Salad Station Franchise
Scott Henderson, co-founder and CEO of Salad Station, says that offering a healthy bottom line for franchisees and offering healthy, customizable foods to customers has proved to be a winning formula for the brand, which has performed well in good times and bad – even during the pandemic. “These past 10 years have been a great experience with challenges and growth,” Henderson says. “Every location we’ve opened is still open. We’ve developed a top-level team, invested in systems to streamline productivity, and we are positioned for rapid expansion over the next 10 years.”
He credits Salad Station’s initial concept as being essential to success. “Salad Station has always focused on fresh ingredients and empowering people to create a gourmet salad their way in our local community. With a low-impact footprint, we help carry on the tradition of our Louisiana family farm of connecting our community with fresh local produce. We wanted to be able to offer delicious gourmet salads and give our community fast, fresh and healthier options.”
First Conference for Salad Station Franchise
As part of marking its 10-year milestone, Salad Station held its first Salabration Conference in New Orleans. More than 30 franchise owners and vendors from all around the United States learned about industry trends, received awards and enjoyed social events in The Big Easy over the two-day gathering this summer.
Garrick Robert, franchise operations director of Salad Station, says the conference was “the first time where everyone was able to be together, talk about their success, and learn from one another. We thank the exceptional keynote speakers for delivering insightful presentations that will help us to grow in the future. And we thank our Salad Station family for their dedication to the brand. Together they set the foundation for our future growth.”
Salad Station’s Franchise Leadership
To further facilitate growth and ensure superior support, Salad Station has put together a leadership team made up of experienced franchise industry professionals. Robert, for instance, previously had held positions at Raising Cane’s and Smoothie King before signing on with Salad Station in 2018. In the brand’s early days, Salad Station added John Mike Heroman, founder of In & Out phone repair franchise, as franchise sales director. Tom O’Keefe, previously president of Smoothie King and chief legal officer of Ruth’s Chris, is lead counsel for Salad Station.
This year Salad Station has added even more franchise industry veterans to its corporate team. Stephanie Zito, formerly involved in training at Starbucks and Raising Cane’s, became training director for Salad Station. Franchise Business Consultant Matt Battey, who also joined Salad Station this year, has extensive experience with Jimmy Johns. D’Ann Davis, public relations and local store marketing manager for Salad Station, is a former sales director with Hampton Inn by Hilton.
Salad Station Franchise Opportunity
Franchisees are drawn to the brand for many reasons. Among them are its low labor requirements, proven operational systems, small waste footprint, family-focused culture, friendly hours (restaurants are closed on Sundays), healthy fast-food menu and pioneering approach to a salad restaurant. Salad Station is searching for experienced franchise owners who appreciate all of Salad Station’s advantages and want to expand their current portfolios.
“Our franchise opportunity is perfect for a current franchise owner looking to add a healthy concept to their portfolio of businesses,” Henderson says. With a franchise fee of $30,000, the estimated initial investment to open a Salad Station franchise is $192,300 to $373,800. For more information about Salad Station franchises, please visit saladstationfranchise.com.