5 Who Thrive: Aloha Salads grows by staying true to its mission - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The signature salad dressings are among the reasonxs forthe company’s success. Alohqa Salads continues to thrive, despite the weak and is expected to gross morethan $1 million this A third location is set to open in June at , followedf by another in the by October. Ther are plans to franchise AlohaSalads nationally. And a California food group has agreed to bottle four of the six sala d dressings forretail distribution. The success is due to a numberof factors. They open stores only in high-profile locations and form business partnershipws withtrusted people. They also stick to their core which is toserve quick, healthy foodw using local ingredients.
Now their goal is to expand strategically in anticipation ofthe economy’ss rebound in 2010. “We have to continude reinventing ourselves to keep things fresuh for customers and attractnew customers, as Chris said. “We’re not going to rush in. We’re goinyg to make sure we make the right decisionszmoving forward.” Careful growth has been the company’sw philosophy from the start. In December 2004, after seven yearse away from home, the Lufranos returned to Hawaiuifrom Chicago, where she was a patent lawyerf and he worked in finance.
For more than a they scouted potential store locations on Oahu and experimentedr with recipesat Sara’s parents’ home in The couple opened their first Alohaw Salads in May 2006 in a 440-square-foot space in the , usinb personal capital and a $50,000 loan guaranteed by the U.S. Smalo Business Administration. The company’s creative salads — “Aloha “Maui Mozzarella” and “The — instantly drew loyal customers. One customer was local contractorFreddie Franco, owner of BEK Inc.
, whosre building credits include Waikiki DFS Galleria, Neiman Marcus and Tony He struck up a friendship with the Lufranos and two yearws later helped design Aloha Salads’ second location in . The mall which opened in March 2008, briefl y experienced a double-digit drop in sales aftert health-food chain Whole Foods opened nearby latelast year. Salew have climbed since then but are slightlybelowe target, Chris said. Franco, now an equal partner in the company, provided the capital to buildd the Kapolei location set to opennext “Kapolei should be really good because there’ s nothing out there,” he said.
“We’ve been gettinf lots of calls askingwhen we’re goinf to build in their The 1,200-square-foot store is unique in that it will have wine pairingsx with salads and a mezzanine level for dine-ibn customers, Franco said. As Aloha Salad continues to expand, the ability to quickly change menu itemss tofit customers’ tastes will be important. For roast beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailuaa store have been replaced with pastrami Periodically introducing creative menu items also is cruciaklto survival. This month, the Kahala Mall location beganserving “design-your-own” omelettes, organic fruit bowls and fresh-squeezee juices.
The response has been and there are plans to serve breakfast inotherd locations. “We really care abouft the food that goes out to Sara said. “People get used to what they’re eatinf and don’t realize thered could be so manygood options.”