Salad & Organic Food Service LLC, a subsidiary of Miami Subs Franchising Corporation, has acquired Salad Creations LLC, another South Florida-based chain specializing in build-your-own and signature salads, soups, and panini. The acquisition of 16 restaurants includes inline, mall, hospital, and university locations throughout the U.S.

Miami Grill says it plans to continue to grow the Salad Creations brand across the U.S. on its own as well as within the Miami Grill restaurants. Evan Friedman and Jonathan Vogel will share the role of co-president and will help lead the new operation along with Steven Klass as COO, Bernard Vogel, CEO, and Richard Chwatt, chairman of Salad Creations. Jonathan Vogel joins the company with 25 years experience running over 50 Burger King locations and has led a team of nearly 2,000 employees.

“The acquisition of Salad Creations gives us the opportunity to deepen our connection with consumers through new menu options and further evolve the brand into the hottest fast-casual concept in the world,” says Evan Friedman, executive vice president of Miami Grill.

The goal of the new venture is to further expand the brand into high volume traffic areas such as universities, airports, turnpikes, and more. Though official plans for menu changes, and/or additions have yet to be revealed to the public, Miami Grill says that they have brought on executive chef Alan Bergman, one of South Florida’s most successful executive chefs, to assist in menu ideation, and that the investment in both Chef Bergman and Salad Creations is a perfect complement to its brand culture.

“What excites me most about Miami Grill is that they are laser focused on growth and diversifying their brand,” says Jonathan Vogel, newly appointed Salad Creations co-president. “I’m thrilled to be joining the team.”