When the salad chain went public two years ago, co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman aimed to become the “McDonald’s of its generation.”
The 2013 startup company has over 100 stores and is closing in on its publicly owned competition. It hopes to expand beyond the Southwest in 2024 with Volt Investment's assistance.
Salad and Go is popular because of its affordability. One of its 48-ounce chicken or tofu salads costs less than $7, whereas Sweetgreen's costs $12.
The chain's C-suite includes restaurant industry veterans, such as former Wingstop CEO Charlie Morrison, as it plans for ambitious expansion. He joined Salad and Go's board 2020.
The brand was designed around the idea of completely rebuilding the supply chain, and fixing what I believe is broken today,” Morrison said at the annual ICR Conference this month.
Salad & Go has more than doubled its stores to 130 in Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas since Morrison became CEO. The chain launched nearly a restaurant each week last year and aims to do so in 2024.
Salad and Go commissary kitchens wash and prepare proteins for salads and wraps. The ingredients are sent to its 750-square-foot sites, which are similar to restaurant kitchens. The eateries offer drive-thrus but no indoor seating.
The chain has expanded swiftly with minimal rent because to its compact footprint. Ghost kitchens and Blank Street Coffee have decreased overhead costs with real estate.