The debut of Saladworks’ new 2,600 sq. ft. “turbo-charged” store design on October 1 drove record-setting gross sales figures of more than $18,000 the company announced today.
Saladworks celebrated the opening of its 100th store in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and unveiled the design of its improved store prototype. In all, 2,026 salads were sold to the scores of “fanatical fans” that lined up from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. outside the new location at the Bank of America Plaza on Route 38. The single-day salad sales from the opening smashed the previous record by more than double the total.
An additional 700 customers, who preferred not to wait in the 15-20 minute lines, were presented with $10 gift cards so they could dine at Saladworks another day. These customers represent an additional $7,000 in gross sales on opening day at the Mount Laurel Saladworks for a grand total of over $25,000.
“There is no other custom made-to-order salad chain that can do over $18,000 in gross store sales in one day and still provide a fanatical customer experience,” says founder and CEO John Scardapane.
The new store layout has maximized throughput, allowing customers to enter, order, pay, and exit more easily. At the Mount Laurel opening, a fresh salad was custom made-to-order for each customer every 20 seconds during the 11 hours of operation; an average of 184 salads per hour.
The turbo-charged improved store design features new architecture, interior design, packaging, and employee apparel. The store features eco-friendly décor including bamboo flooring and numerous materials made from recycled content.
“Nothing has been overlooked with the new store design,” says Scardapane. “We’ve added a new catering menu and delivery system, enhanced the selections in our salad case to include upscale items like seared tuna, edamame and filet mignon and updated the design of cutlery, bowls, salt and pepper packages and straws.”
Saladworks used the milestone event in their history to support one of Philadelphia’s biggest charities. Net sales from the opening were donated to the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation which is leading the fight against childhood cancer.