New York City based Chopt Creative Salad Co. will soon make its highly anticipated entry into the Atlanta market. With numerous job postings on various career sites in Atlanta, Chopt is preparing for what sources say will be a late second quarter debut. The job postings indicate that Chopt is hiring an Assistant Commissary Manager as well as an
Assistant General Manager, among other positions.
While it's unclear where exactly the commissary will be located (it's likely ITP), a site plan for Tuxedo Festival indicates that Chop't is coming soon to north Buckhead center. ToNeTo Atlanta has heard for months that Chopt would open in the former inline Regions Bank in the shopping center near the corner of Roswell and Piedmont Roads, but the updated site plan finally confirms the plans. The approximately 3,000 square foot space has been vacant since the Birmingham-based bank consolidated its Buckhead operations into single, larger branch in early 2015.
In Tuxedo Festival, Chopt joins Zoës Kitchen, Duck Donuts, Marcello's and Gallery Cafe & Grill in the center. Once popular Tuxedo Festival restaurant Flip Burger Boutique closed its roughly 4,100 square foot space in the center last month after seven years in business.
Tuxedo Festival is also already home to Row House Fitness, and will later this spring will welcome Solcioty Fitness, an Orangetheory Fitness type of studio.
Founded in 2001 by college friends Tony Shure and Colin McCabe, Chopt has become a leader in the premium salad segment, and has expanded from its original location in New York City’s Union Square to include 38 locations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Connecticut, suburban Westchester, New York, suburban Maryland and North Carolina. Chopt's Charlotte location, in the historic Park Road shopping center, is, like Tuxedo Festival, owned by real estate firm Edens.
Chopt's core menu features 14 Classics, 3 rotating Seasonal Specials, 25 homemade small-batch dressings, and limited-time-only “Super Seasonals” that feature local produce only at its peak.
In Atlanta, Chopt joins a growing number of open or opening salad focused concepts from both local and national operators.
Despite the struggles of local concepts like Dressed (entire concept gone) and Doc Greens (nearly entire concept gone), other upstarts like Wildleaf and upbeet are thriving in Buckhead and the Westside, respectively. Fresh to Order has also grown locally, expanding from a single location in Midtown in 2006 to nine locations around metro Atlanta and another five in other states.
Houston, Texas-based Salata entered the Atlanta market last year with locations in Atlantic Station and Sandy Springs with a third location expected to open Thursday February 1 at Providence Square in East Cobb. Other locations are planned for Liberty Village in Alpharetta, Peachtree Corners Town Center in Norcross, "The Hub" (Peachtree Center) downtown and possibly Toco Hills. Salata is basically a scaled down, higher priced Sweet Tomatoes, making it one of the least innovative concepts to have entered the market.
About ten years ago, Boca Raton-based Tossed had a short lived location in Decatur near Ted's Montana Grill on West Ponce de Leon Avenue, while more recent upstarts like Sweetgreen and Tender Greens have not yet put Atlanta on their expansion lists.
Scottsdale, Arizona-based Grabbagreen, which in 2016 announced franchise plans for at least three locations in Atlanta, has thus far opened none. Franchisee Lauren Ramsey had previously targeted the site that Saladworks has since secured in Brighten Park, as well as space in the street level portion of the new Hanover Perimeter apartment complex, but neither deal ever came to fruition. Both sites were listed last year as "coming soon" on the Grabbagreen website, but today both of them are gone and there is no mention of any locations coming to Georgia anywhere on the site.
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based Saladworks announced plans last fall for both corporate and franchise locations in metro Atlanta. The first two confirmed locations will be in Brighten Park (fka Loehmann's Plaza) and at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Additionally, the company was said to be "reviewing real estate options in Cumming, Alpharetta, Peachtree, Sandy Springs, Perimeter, Buckhead, Midtown and Toco Hills."
Flower Child, the "baby sister" of Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concept's True Food Kitchen, is also coming to Atlanta. As ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report last June, Flower Child will open in a portion of the former American Apparel at Shops Around Lenox in Buckhead. The restaurant, which is expected to open this coming spring, is essentially a quick-serve, scaled down, version of True Food Kitchen. Sources say that the company is looking to expand the concept locally with at least one additional location already in the works.
Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that Chopt, which does not franchise, is also looking at adding additional locations in Peachtree Corners and the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs area.
Have you ever been to Chopt? Who do think currently offers the best overall salad options in Atlanta? Where should Chopt open next?
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