News

Salata spending $1M to upgrade menu

Houston-based Salata, which has locations throughout Texas, California and Illinois, is committing more than $1 million to ingredient upgrades.

January 8, 2016

Houston-based Salata, which has locations throughout Texas, California and Illinois, is committing more than $1 million to ingredient upgrades to further its "Fresh First" policy in 2016, according to a company press release.

Salata has switched to using only antibiotic-free chicken, available in herb-marinated, Asian barbecue, pesto and spicy chipotle. Additionally, its house-made dressings that contain mayonnaise — buttermilk ranch, chipotle ranch and honey mustard — will now be made with mayonnaise using cage-free eggs and sustainable soybean oil. Its cookies will be made using only real butter, premium ingredients and no artificial additives, said Salata founder and CEO Berge Simonian.

"Offering clean ingredients is not a passing fad for Salata, but a mission we've had since we founded the company in 2005 to make all our dressings, marinades, soups and sauces in-house without preservatives and additives like high fructose corn syrup," Simonian said. "We’ve made this additional commitment to shape the future of Salata and further raise the bar on providing the best ingredients available."

Though the company anticipates the ingredient upgrades will cost more than $1 million, it will not pass the cost on to its guests.  

"Fresh First is the basis for our brand, and it's what keeps our customers coming back," said Simonian. "We are making this sizable investment to ensure we are leading the salad restaurant segment in quality."

Other additions throughout 2016 include the reformulation of Salata's protein marinades to reduce sodium levels, and switching to organic tea for all iced tea selections. Though few of its restaurants offer fountain drinks, Salata will also only offer sodas without high-fructose corn syrup.

Salata has more than 50 corporate and franchised locations in Texas, Southern California and Illinois.