We’re well into summer, but if you’re still trying to get your beach body ready, a salad eatery opening in Atlanta next week might be able to help.
Saladworks is officially opening its doors at 11 a.m. July 25 at 2484 Briarcliff Road in Brighten Park, and is offering guests that day one free salad, grain bowl or toast.
The Pennsylvania-based company, which was founded in 1986, has more than 100 locations in states including North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas and Kentucky, but this will be the first in Georgia.
“We were looking to expand, and looking at characteristics predictive of success,” said President and CEO Pat Sugrue. “Atlanta was at the top of the list of markets.”
The menu, developed by nutritionist and chef Katie Cavuto and her team, allows customers to build their own salads or choose from a variety of signature and seasonal salads made with homemade dressings, grain bowls, toasts, soups, sandwiches and wraps.
Cavuto said she hoped to create a menu “that would focus on taste first,” focusing on freshness, color and interesting ingredients.
Salads include the seasonal Peaches N’ Greens made with arugula, roasted peaches, blueberries, cucumbers, roasted onions, goat cheese, bread bites and pesto vinaigrette; and the Om, made with lettuce, red cabbage, orange segments, red peppers, sesame seeds, roasted broccoli and brown rice topped with honey miso dressing.
“We try to put a healthy spin on it without marketing it as healthy first,” she said. “It’s, ‘This tastes great, and oh, by the way, it’s better for you.”
The menu features core offerings of six salads, three grain bowls and three toasts, along with two salads, one grain bowl and one toast that rotate seasonally. Also look for homemade drinks including agua frescas and lemonades, in addition to sweet tea.
Though Saladworks is one of several fast-casual salad-focused eateries to open in Atlanta in the past couple of years -- Salata, Wildleaf and Chopt have all entered the market recently -- Sugrue said longevity, affordability and being in tune with customers sets Saladworks apart.
“We’ve had 32 years in the business, and we know more about consumer trends, emerging trends and traditions in salad business than anyone else.”
In addition to Cavuto’s menu, he said the Saladworks stores themselves are designed to encourage repeat visits, with places to charge cell phones, free WiFi and efficient, streamlined space.
The Brighten Park is set to be the first of many for Saladworks in metro Atlanta -- a location is coming in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport later this year, and Sugrue said the company is looking at several other areas for expansion including Buckhead, Midtown, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs.
2484 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta. 404-748-1350, saladworks.com
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