Saladworks, the nation’s first and largest fresh-tossed salad chain, announced today that it will open nine Saladworks locations in Southern California with a multi-unit developer. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The four-year agreement will allow Bruce P. Bear LLC to develop Saladworks locations in metro San Diego and Palm Springs. The first location will open in Country Club Village Shopping Center in Rancho Mirage by the end of this year.

“Today’s consumer is interested in living a healthy lifestyle, and we are very excited to bring ‘America’s Best Salad’ to Southern California,” says John Scardapane, founder and CEO of Saladworks.

“What brought us to the Saladworks brand was the amazing commitment to customer service and ongoing support from the corporate office,” says Jennifer Heggie of Bruce P. Bear LLC. “We feel great service combined with fresh, healthy food offerings will help Saladworks succeed in Southern California.”

Saladworks has one open location in California at the Sacramento International Airport and is currently developing the Boston and Atlanta markets in which it sold multi-unit franchise deals in 2008. Three locations will open in Boston and 10 in metro Atlanta.

“We aim to make each Saladworks customer a lifelong fan of our products,” Scardapane says. “We provide the freshest ingredients available to our customers to meet — and exceed — their standards, while keeping our menu interesting.”