Neighbor News Online: Saladworks Opens First Georgia Location in North Druid Hills

Saladworks, the nation’s leading salad-centric franchise has opened its doors to the North Druid Hills community. “I like to say that we were making salads before it was cool, but now more than ever people are seeking out fresh, healthy food that is delicious,” said Saladworks President, Patrick Sugrue.

The Pennsylvania-based company has nearly 100 locations in the United States and plans to add at least 20 locations in the Atlanta metro by the end of 2019. The fast-casual franchise is looking at five potential locations in the Georgia area, including restaurants in Alpharetta, Buckhead, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

“Atlanta is energetic and vibrant and the consumers are already reacting favorably to our menu of salads, grain bowls, toasts, soups and aguas frescas beverages,” said Sugrue. “We hope to quickly expand our footprint and continue to create lifelong fans of our brand.”

The new health-focused fast-casual restaurant is located close to Emory University and right across the street from the new Children’s hospital that is currently being constructed. “Frankly when you think of people who are on the cutting edge of recognizing the value of eating healthy, it’s not surprising that those people tend to to be in the medical and education industries,” said Sugrue.

Saladworks Chef and Nutritionist Katie Cavuto, who created the signature salad recipes, said seasonal, fresh vegetables and homemade, healthier salad dressings are what make repeat customers crave the restaurant’s food. “We really focused on the freshness and quality of the ingredients we chose to use,” said Cavuto.

Customers can choose from more than 60 fresh ingredients to create their own salads or wraps, or select one of the popular specialty salads like the Bacon & Blue Salad, which features bacon, romaine, roasted potatoes, grape tomatoes, roasted onion, avocados, roasted broccoli, blue cheese and house-made creamy onion blue dressing.

The current initial investment for Saladworks ranges from $388,723 to $531,455 which includes a $35,000 franchise fee and has between $27,000 and $65,000 in tenant improvement allowance subtracted from the total.