Salad chain to open eight units in O.C. 2010-03-04
Posted Date March 2010
By: Orange County Register
A fast-growing East Coast salad chain that chops and assembles your fresh greens “in front of your eyes” is headed for Orange County.
Saladworks, based in Pennsylvania, announced plans Thursday to open eight franchise units in the region.
The units would be among the first California restaurants for Saladworks, which is scouting locations in Irvine, Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Mission Viejo.
Country club chef John Scardapane opened his first Saladworks in 1986 at the Cherry Hills mall in New Jersey. The founder believed in a made-to-order salad concept for consumers on the go. All ingredients from greens to onions are chopped in front of diners.
At first, the mall had doubts about the salads-only concept, so the center forced Scardapane to add sandwiches to the menu. But, the assembly-line salad system took off and Saladworks became the No. 1 sales generator at the mall food court — beating out fast-food pizzas and burgers.
Last year, the 100-unit chain said it would also open units in San Diego. So far, those locations have not been developed.
