The Salad Station’s Mother-and-Son Co-Founders Cindy and Scott Henderson Built Their Dream Business—Then Watched the Lines Run Out the Door

When consumers and foodservice professionals alike think “salad concept,” chances are they picture one of two things: Either a less-than-ideal setup characterized by iceberg lettuce, few offerings and poor quality, or a trend-driven model that may offer up a higher-quality selection—with  a premium price tag.

Enter The Salad Station. The build-your-own salad concept was started in 2012 by co-founders and mother-and-son duo Cindy and Scott Henderson. The history of the brand’s founding goes to the core of just what makes The Salad Station such a uniquely differentiated concept: In a very real way, it all began in 1943 with Cindy’s father, Italian-American farmer Joe Liuzza.

Despite being faced with a less-than-welcoming community sentiment, Liuzza perservered against discrimination to start his own produce farm in the 1940s, eventually growing the business to become the largest strawberry producer in the state of Louisiana. Liuzza’s entrepreneurial spirit clearly ran through the family: First, his daughter Cindy went on to open two farmers market locations—Berry Town. Next, her son, Scott, transformed his post-high school job as a wholesale produce distributor into the purchase and rebranding of a Hammond, Louisiana haunt, now called Buddies Bar & Grill and regarded as the best steakhouse in town.

It was precisely because of Cindy and Scott’s prior experience with fresh produce distribution and food sales that, when the two realized the opportunity to join forces and open their shared “dream business” of an always-fresh, always-quality salad concept, they knew they had the acumen and insight to do so. The two co-founded The Salad Station in 2012 and began franchising in 2015, with Scott as president and CEO.

“My goal has always been to ‘wow’ people,” said Henderson. “I always wanted people to feel that we exceeded the cost of the item in terms of quality and value.”

That’s precisely wherein The Salad Station stands apart from the competition. Thanks to distribution acumen and the Hendersons’ farming background, the pay-by-the-pound “Full, Fresh, Clean” brand is able to take the cost of lower-tier salad concepts and the quality of their trend-hungry peers to fill a gap in the market like no other concept can. That’s salad by the people, for the people.

And the consumer demand shows that it’s working.

The Salad Station’s first location launched in Hammond, Louisiana, and on the third or fourth day of business, “the line was out the door,” said Scott. The Hendersons knew that their “dream business” was now more than wish fulfillment—it was a full-blown success. The Salad Station began expanding through franchising and today has five locations open or soon-to-open, with another 15 in development and an aggressive growth plan to hit 30 by the end of 2020. Target markets include Huntsville and Montgomery, Alabama; Orlando, Pensacola and the Panhandle region of Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Oxford, Mississippi; Nashville, Tennessee; Houston, Texas; and the Carolinas.

Naming just what has allowed The Salad Station to capture the hearts—and stomachs—of a traditionally meat-favoring portion of the U.S. makes for an impressive list. Driven by the brand slogan of “Full, Fresh, Clean,” The Salad Station’s pay-by-the-pound, build-your-own salad bars are always fully stocked and meticulously kept. Staff members flip the bar at lunch and replace the a.m. tongs with a set of alternate-color p.m. tongs; the produce is sourced locally and prepped in-store for optimum freshness; and the concept offers a whopping 100-plus toppings to choose from—over three times the variety of other BYO salad concepts.

In addition to keeping consumers satisfied through quality and variety, The Salad Station is also continually innovating. The brand enjoys an ever-evolving menu, recently rolling out on-the-spot chop or wrap options for guests on the go and event and even recently launched their own automated Salad Station, salad-making robot with touch screen customization.

But that’s not the only market-dominating element to The Salad Station’s franchise opportunity. The lack of a full-service buildout means a lower cost of entry and the kind of streamlined operations that allows Salad Station managers to hire for personality. The Salad Station locations are built around a healthy work-life balance, operating from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and are closed on Sundays.

“From Day One, we said, ‘We’re not going to tell someone to work on Sundays and not spend time with their family if we’re not doing that ourselves,’” Scott said. Impressively, even with these hours, the typical The Salad Station operator enjoyed 3-to-1 returns in 2018.

The brand is also led by an executive team with an impressive depth of knowledge in terms of franchising; Director of Franchise Operations Garrick Robert worked for eight years as a franchise consultant for previously Louisiana-based wellness and lifestyle brand Smoothie King; head of Franchise Development John Mike Heroman started his own wireless repair service and grew it to 75 franchised locations before selling to the nation’s largest wireless repair company and joining The Salad Station team; and new store opener Kevin Laurent has garnered considerable experience quickly equipping new owners within The Salad Station system to hit the ground running following their Grand Opening Day.

So just what kind of franchise candidate is The Salad Station looking for in terms of expanding its footprint? In short: The Hometown Hero.

“We look for someone who is passionate about the brand and our focus on farm, family and faith,” said Henderson. “And you have to be a hard worker. We look candidates in the eye and say, ‘Are you ready to work diligently and get after this?’ If you’re willing to make that sacrifice, it will get better and easier, but you have to be willing to go all in.”

And even though the brand has been so successful that it’s grown to a footprint of 20 units opened or in development as of September 2019, Scott emphasized that brand commitment has to come from a commitment to community over the bottom line.

“We stress up front: If you’re in this for the money, this is not your brand. We want to bring value to our communities, reach out, be a community partner and make people say, ‘Wow!’,” Henderson said. “If you want to work as hard as you can to make people happy, then we are your fit.”

Sounds like a franchise opportunity that’s a cut—and a chop—above the rest.

The Salad Station franchise investment ranges from $198,650 and $354,900. To learn more about franchising with The Salad Station, visit https://thesaladstation.com/franchising.