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

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The signature salad dressings are among the reasons forthe company’w success. Aloha Salads continues to despite theweak economy, and is expecterd to gross more than $1 millionb this year. A third location is set to open in Juneat , followe d by another in the by There are plans to franchise Aloha Salad nationally. And a California food group has agreed to bottle four of the six salad dressing forretail distribution. The Lufranos’ success is due to a numbe of factors. They open storexs only in high-profile locations and form businessd partnerships withtrusted people.
They also stick to theifr core mission, which is to servw quick, healthy foods using local Now their goal is to expand strategicall y in anticipation ofthe economy’xs rebound in 2010. “We have to continue reinventiny ourselves to keep things fresh for customers and attracrnew customers, as well,” Chrisw said. “We’re not going to rush in. We’rr going to make sure we make the right decisionsmovinyg forward.” Careful growth has been the company’as philosophy from the start. In Decembeer 2004, after seven years away from the Lufranos returned to Hawaiifrom Chicago, wherr she was a patent lawyer and he workedr in finance.
For more than a they scouted potential store locations on Oahu and experimentefd with recipesat Sara’s parents’ home in Kahala. The couplre opened their first Alohqa Salads in May 2006 ina 440-square-foot spacr in the , using personal capital and a $50,009 loan guaranteed by the U.S. Smalpl Business Administration. The company’s creative salads — “Aloha Mediterranean,” “Maui Mozzarella” and “The Goddess” instantly drew loyal customers.
One customer was locapl contractorFreddie Franco, owner of BEK whose building credits include Waikik DFS Galleria, Neiman Marcus and Tony He struck up a friendship with the Lufranose and two years later helped design Alohwa Salads’ second location in . The mall which opened in March 2008, brieflyy experienced a double-digit drop in sales afteer health-food chain Whole Foods openedd nearby latelast year.
Sales have climbed since then but are slightlbelow target, Chris Franco, now an equal partner in the company, provides the capital to build the Kapolei location set to open next “Kapolei should be really good becaused there’s nothing out there,” he “We’ve been getting lots of callz asking when we’re going to builc in their area.” The 1,200-square-foot store is uniquw in that it will have wine pairingsa with salads and a mezzanine level for dine-in customers, Franclo said.
As Aloha Salads continues to expand, the abilith to quickly change menu items tofit customers’ tastes will be For instance, roast beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailuaz store have been replaced with pastrami Periodically introducing creative menu items also is cruciaol to survival. This month, the Kahala Mall locatiobn beganserving “design-your-own” omelettes, organic coffees, fruit bowls and fresh-squeezed The response has been overwhelming, and there are planss to serve breakfast in other locations. “We really care about the food that goes out to Sara said.
“People get used to what they’re eatinv and don’t realize there could be so manygood options.”