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

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The signature salad dressings are amonhg the reasons forthe company’s success. Aloha Saladzs continues to thrive, despite the weak economy, and is expected to gros more than $1 million this year. A thired location is set to open in Juneat , followedc by another in the by There are plans to franchise Aloha Saladsz nationally. And a California food grou p has agreed to bottle four of the six salas dressings forretail distribution. The success is due to a numbefrof factors. They open stores only in high-profil locations and form business partnerships with trusted They also stick to theirecore mission, which is to servde quick, healthy foods using local ingredients.
Now their goal is to expandx strategically in anticipation ofthe economy’as rebound in 2010. “We have to continue reinventing ourselveds to keep things fresh for customers and attracfnew customers, as well,” Chris said. “We’re not goinyg to rush in. We’re going to make sure we make the rightt decisionsmoving forward.” Careful growtbh has been the company’s philosophyt from the start. In December after seven years awayfrom home, the Lufranos returne d to Hawaii from where she was a patent lawyer and he workef in finance.
For more than a they scouted potential store locationw on Oahu and experimented with recipesat Sara’d parents’ home in Kahala. The couplw opened their first Aloha Saladsa in May 2006 ina 440-square-foot space in the , usintg personal capital and a $50,000 loan guaranteed by the U.S. Small Businesx Administration. The company’s creative salads — “Alohqa Mediterranean,” “Maui Mozzarella” and “The Goddess” — instantly drew loya customers. One customer was local contractorFreddie Franco, owneer of BEK Inc., whose building credits includee Waikiki DFS Galleria, Neiman Marcus and Tony Auto-plex.
He strucko up a friendship with the Lufranos and two years later helped designAloha Salads’ second location in . The mall which opened in March briefly experienceda double-digit drop in sales after health-foodf chain Whole Foods openef nearby late last year. Sales have climbed sincr then but are slightly below Chris said. Franco, now an equal partnef in the company, provided the capitaol to build the Kapolei location set to opennext month. “Kapolej should be really good because there’s nothing out he said. “We’ve been getting lots of calls askingwhen we’ree going to build in theirf area.
” The 1,200-square-foot store is unique in that it will have wine pairingz with salads and a mezzanine levell for dine-in customers, Franco said. As Aloha Salad s continues to expand, the ability to quickly change menu itema tofit customers’ tastes will be For instance, roast beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailuw store have been replaced with pastrami sandwiches. Periodically introducingv creative menu items also is crucialkto survival. This month, the Kahalw Mall location beganservingy “design-your-own” omelettes, organic coffees, fruit bowls and fresh-squeeze juices.
The response has been overwhelming, and ther are plans to serve breakfastf inother locations. “We really care about the food that goes out to Sara said. “People get used to what they’re eating and don’t realize there could be so manygood options.”