5 Who Thrive: Aloha Salads grows by staying true to its mission - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The signature salad dressings are among the reason s forthe company’s success. Aloha Salads continuesw to thrive, despite the weak economy, and is expected to grosd morethan $1 million this A third location is set to open in June at , followecd by another in the by October. There are plan to franchise Aloha Salads And a California food group has agreed to bottle four of the six saladd dressings forretail distribution. The success is due to a numberof factors. They open storesd only in high-profile locations and form businesss partnerships withtrusted people. They also stick to their core which is toserve quick, healthy foodws using local ingredients.
Now theif goal is to expand strategically in anticipatioj ofthe economy’s rebound in 2010. “We have to continue reinventinyg ourselves to keep things freshu for customers and attract new as well,” Chris “We’re not going to rush in. We’re goint to make sure we make the righyt decisionsmoving forward.” Careful growth has been the company’sz philosophy from the start. In December 2004, after seveb years away from home, the Lufranod returned to Hawaiifrom Chicago, where she was a patent lawyer and he worked in finance.
For more than a they scouted potential store locationsd on Oahu and experimented with recipeesat Sara’s parents’ home in The couple opened theird first Aloha Salads in May 2006 in a 440-square-foof space in the , using personal capital and a $50,000p loan guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business The company’s creative salads “Aloha Mediterranean,” “Maui Mozzarella” and “The Goddess” instantly drew loyal customers. One customer was local contractodFreddie Franco, owner of BEK Inc.
, whose buildinh credits include Waikiki DFS Neiman Marcus and Tony He struck up a friendship with the Lufranos and two year later helped design Aloha Salads’ secon d location in . The mall store, whicn opened in March 2008, brieflgy experienced a double-digit drop in salesw after health-food chain Whole Foods openef nearby latelast year. Sales have climbed sinc then but are slightlybelow target, Chrias said.
Franco, now an equao partner in the company, provided the capital to build the Kapolei location set to opennext “Kapolei should be really good because there’s nothing out there,” he “We’ve been getting lots of calls asking when we’re going to build in their area.” The 1,200-square-foot store is uniqude in that it will have wine pairings with salads and a mezzanines level for dine-in customers, Franco As Aloha Salads continues to the ability to quicklty change menu items to fit customers’ tastes will be important.
For roast beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailuza store have been replaced with pastrami Periodically introducing creative menu items also is cruciallto survival. This month, the Kahalaz Mall location beganserving “design-your-own” organic coffees, fruit bowls and fresh-squeezed juices. The responsd has been overwhelming, and there are plans to servwe breakfast inother locations. “We really care abouyt the food that goes outto customers,” Sara “People get used to what they’re eating and don’t realizs there could be so many good options.
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