Saladworks Ready for Turbo-Charged Growth Inks deal with real estate company that put Commerce Bank "everywhere"

Posted on April 14, 2008 by Bill Dube

Conshohocken, PA – You know the old adage, “It’s all about location.” Well, Saladworks is about to be where every other business only wishes they were.  The nation’s #1 fresh-tossed salad franchise has signed Site Development Incorporated as their exclusive real estate broker for their targeted growth areas.  SDI is the same real estate development firm that placed Commerce Bank on the best and busiest business locations in the Northeast.  In fact, of the 450 plus Commerce Bank sites, SDI located nearly 400 of those properties between 1980- 2007.  It’s why so many people often remark that Commerce Bank “is everywhere.”  Expect to see that same rapid expansion from the first and fastest growing salad franchise, as Saladworks’ presence grows even stronger.

 “The faster you get locations on the street, the more you grow, “said John Silvestri, president of SDI. “About a year and a half ago, we really started to look into Saladworks and what we saw was a viable concept with very little competition and tremendous opportunities.  They’ve got the infrastructure in place; all they need is some help in real estate.”

That’s where SDI comes in.  The Mt. Laurel, NJ-based company was founded in 1968 and specializes in finding single-user locations.  They’ve completed more than 1,000 free standing locations over the past twenty years alone for some of the biggest businesses out there, including CVS, Burger King and Jiffy Lube.  Now, Saladworks is banking on SDI doing for them what they’ve done for Commerce Bank: put them on the map in a big way.  They project to secure more than 60 sites in 2008, with more to come.

“SDI will expand our unit numbers, which expands the recognition and success of Saladworks ,” said John Scardapane, CEO of Saladworks. “It just feeds upon itself. And with more franchisees wanting to join our system, now we have a firm that can find real estate fast, and not just any spot, but the spot that every other business wishes they had found first. ”

 With 89 stores, Saladworks is surging toward 100 locations and 200, even 300, won’t be far behind, thanks to this deal and another announced earlier this month.  In addition to signing SDI as their broker, Saladworks has signed on with franchisor extraordinaire Ken Gordon as their first area representative for the state of Florida.  Gordon will open 30 new Saladworks franchises in Florida over the next four years.  These two deals position Saladworks to remain the best salad franchise, not only regionally, but outside its core market, and the business world is taking note.  Entrepreneur Magazine voted Saladworks the #1 salad franchise in the country (2007) and the chain was listed as #7 on Fast Casual magazine’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers (2008.) 

ABOUT SALADWORKS

From the time entrepreneurial chef John Scardapane opened the first Saladworks in Cherry Hill, NJ in 1986, the enterprise has emerged as a leader in the quick-casual food arena, by offering a tasty, yet healthy alternative to the food found at most fast food chains.  By giving customers the freshest and finest ingredients, which are expertly prepared in front of them by an always-accommodating staff, Saladworks has developed a proven successful concept.

Saladworks, the nation’s first fresh-tossed salad franchise concept, currently operates 89 franchise-locations in seven states throughout the country, as well as, Washington, D.C.   The chain has enjoyed a double digit growth rate for the last few years and is on track to maintain that rate of growth over the next 4 years. Using its innovative step-by-step regional expansion method, Saladworks plans to have 300 plus locations open by the year 2012.  Saladworks locations offer a healthy menu of flavorful salads with signature dressings, as well as complimentary menu items.