** This article is from the June/July 2007 issue of Fast Casual magazine. Click here to subscribe.
At Salad Creations, the people working behind the counter are just as much a part of the experience as the food.
Salad Creations founder Jeff Levine and chief operating offi cer Mick Owens know exactly what kind of person they want working behind the counter. They even know what type of person they want as a Salad Creations franchisee.
The Margate, Fla.-based Salad Creations, founded in 2003, recently opened its 20th location. The chain is opening new stores at the rate of about one per week, and Levine hopes to have 60 stores open by the end of the year.
Salad Creations features a one-price "Create Your Own Salad," with a choice of nearly 30 "throw-ins" such as raisins, cucumbers, boiled eggs and feta cheese. Toppings such as grilled chicken, tuna, roast beef or ham also are available for an additional cost.
The concept serves soup, specialty salads and an assortment of wraps. An add-on smoothie station "module" also is available, depending on the franchisee's wishes.
One of the chain's primary focus is human resources. Salad Creations is unique in its use of behavior psychology to help identify the type of people who will be successful working there.
"I had taken over a fairly large steakhouse concept about seven years ago, and we came in and evaluated the human resources package that was in place and found it to be signifi cantly defi cient," Owens said.
"There was an enormous amount of time and energy spent on mechanical training such as how to pull apart a grill, but very little time spent on human interaction, and I found that to be very peculiar," he said. "Everything we do is with some form of human interaction."
To address those weaknesses, Owens spent time working with a psychologist to identify the psychological characteristics and behaviors that made a successful employee. Although he didn't have the opportunity to see those efforts pay off at the steakhouse chain, he brought those experiences to Salad Creations.
"We developed a package of behaviors that we found to be most favorable in our salad chefs, managers and franchisees," Owens said. "It is paying off for us now."
The intensive screening also compels franchisees to focus on the need to pay attention to hiring and to understand the characteristics of what makes a good Salad Creations employee, Levine said.
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| A lunch crowd forms at this Salad Creations location. |
"It is very important to have face-to-face, eye-to-eye contact with our salad chefs as part of our concept," he said. "What we have found through the hiring system is it really weeds out the people who aren't going to do that; who aren't going to create a salad as well as talk to the guest about directions to the museum or the score of the ball game the night before."
Restaurants also feature "Salad Creations Radio," a custom background system designed to match the energy of the restaurants.
Interspersed with background music are messages promoting various specials or other marketing information. Before the store opens each morning, the system plays messages urging the crew to check their appearance and the cleanliness of the restaurant.
"The employees like it because it is personalized and it is Salad Creations-specific," Owens said. "It's not a big deal, but it encourages everyone to take ownership in the system."
Three times the size
Levine opened his fi rst restaurant, a southern barbecue joint called Brother Jimmy's BBQ, in New York City nearly 20 years ago when he was about a month out of college. A year and a half later, he opened the Bay Club nightclub in South Hampton, New York.
The following year, he started a concept called Lulu's Bait Shack, which grew to locations in Atlanta, Athens, Ga., Dallas, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Lulu's is what led Levine to Florida.
Now, Levine is putting his considerable restaurant experience into growing the Salad Creations concept. "We opened the first Salad Creations in 2003 in the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, Fla., and really started growing aggressively about two years ago," Levine said.
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| Salad Creations' chopped turkey salad. |
"We just opened our 20th unit and we have about 74 franchises sold."
One area where Salad Creations differs from other concepts is the absence of cooking equipment, Levine said. Because the restaurant doesn't generate cooking exhaust, the concept is well-suited to offi ce building locations.
"Certainly that has made us much more desirable to landlords in Class A buildings because we won't be tearing up their ceilings," Levine said. "It also keeps our startup costs down and adds to our consistency of product."
Lines down the block
Once a potential franchisee passes the initial screening process, he or she undergoes a 12-day training process at company headquarters. Training covers business management and concept execution, as well as the psychological component of being a Salad Creations franchisee.
Lisa Baccega, Salad Creations area developer for the Illinois/Northwest Indiana region, opened her fi rst restaurant in Bolingbrook, Ill., at the beginning of May.
"My husband and I became area developers in December, and we knew where we wanted to locate, so we opened our first store fairly quickly," Baccega said. "It has taken off like you wouldn't believe."
Baccega, who formerly worked in health-care administration, looked at several concepts before choosing Salad Creations. The absence of cooking equipment was a major attraction, she said.
Baccega's only restaurant experience was working as a server while in college, she said.
"We liked the idea of the fact there was no cooking involved," she said. "This is a niche and underserved area. People are looking for a fast dining option with a healthy twist."
Baccega estimates her territory could hold about 75 stores. She plans to open another store in about six months and then will begin recruiting franchisees to open stores in her territory.
"It certainly doesn't hurt when they see a line out the door and around the block," she said. "If I could do it all over again, I would have doubled the size of my restaurant."
