GROSSE POINTE— The Big Salad, a chain of restaurants in metro Detroit serving fresh, custom-made salads, healthy and hearty soups and a wide range of sumptuous sandwiches today announced plans to open two new franchises in 2013 with a goal to launch an additional 200 restaurants over the next 10 years.
The Big Salad’s biggest drawing card and exclusivity by far is their entrée salads which are featured as a main course instead of a side dish. With three types of lettuce (iceberg, spinach and romaine), 30 vegetable toppings, 30 dressings, eight meat and seafood toppings, and eight dry toppings, there are over 17 million possible custom combinations salad chefs are able to construct for customers.
“I wanted to create a specialty restaurant, where salads are the main course of a meal that is made for our guests, not by them, and to their exact specifications,” said John Bornoty, The Big Salad founder, of the idea that is the foundation for his chain of restaurants. “The Big Salad is a restaurant where the number of fresh toppings seems limitless, the lettuce is continuously kept crisp and cold and the salad ingredients are not handled by the masses, but by one associate who is dedicated to making customers the best and freshest salad possible.”
Bornoty opened the first The Big Salad in 2008 in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, an upscale suburb of Detroit. It became an instant oasis for diners seeking fresh food at reasonable prices in an upscale environment. Bornoty accomplished his upscale image by trimming his restaurants with granite counters, wood accents and comfortable cushioned wood chairs.
“The trend in the restaurant industry is clearly toward offering fresher, reasonably-priced, more healthful choices in an upscale environment,” explains Bornoty. “In this regard, The Big Salad is perfectly positioned.”
Serving fresh food and maintaining extremely low waste levels is a top priority for the environmentally-conscious restaurant chain.
“The Big Salad was born with an understanding that we have no interest in serving average food quickly, but rather by providing the freshest product possible, with great customer service, in an enjoyable, comfortable and impeccably clean atmosphere,” explains Bornoty.
