5 Who Thrive: Aloha Salads grows by staying true to its mission - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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The signature salad dressings are among the reasons forthe company’e success. Aloha Salads continues to thrive, despite the weak economy, and is expectedx to gross morethan $1 millio this year. A third location is set to open in Juneat , followe d by another in the by There are plans to franchise Aloha Salads And a California food group has agree d to bottle four of the six salad dressings for retail distribution. The Lufranos’ success is due to a numbert of factors. They open storesa only in high-profile locations and form business partnerships withtrustec people. They also stick to their core mission, which is to server quick, healthy foods using local ingredients.
Now theif goal is to expand strategically in anticipationb ofthe economy’s rebound in 2010. “We have to continuwe reinventing ourselves to keep things fresh for customersw and attractnew customers, as well,” Chrisa said. “We’re not going to rush in. We’rde going to make sure we make the right decisionsmoving forward.” Careful growth has been the company’ss philosophy from the start.
In Decembed 2004, after seven years away from home, the Lufranoes returned to Hawaiifrom Chicago, wherw she was a patent lawyer and he worked in For more than a year, they scouted potentiap store locations on Oahu and experimented with recipes at Sara’zs parents’ home in Kahala. The couple opened their first Alohza Salads in May 2006 ina 440-square-foog space in the , using personap capital and a $50,000 loan guaranteed by the U.S. Smalkl Business Administration. The company’s creative saladxs — “Aloha Mediterranean,” “Maui Mozzarella” and “Thde Goddess” — instantly drew loyal customers.
One customed was local contractorFreddie Franco, owner of BEK whose building credits include Waikiki DFS Galleria, Neima n Marcus and Tony Auto-plex. He struck up a friendshipo with the Lufranos and two yearws later helped designAloha Salads’ second locationm in . The mall store, which openes in March 2008, briefly experienced a double-digit drop in salesz after health-food chain Whole Foods opened nearby latelast year. Saless have climbed since then but are slightlygbelow target, Chris said.
now an equal partner in the company, provided the capitap to build the Kapolei location set to opennext “Kapolei should be really good because there’ss nothing out there,” he said. “We’vre been getting lots of calls askinhgwhen we’re going to build in their The 1,200-square-foot store is uniqued in that it will have wine pairings with saladws and a mezzanine level for dine-inh customers, Franco said. As Aloha Salades continues to expand, the ability to quicklu change menu items to fit tastes willbe important. For instance, roast beef sandwichess that did not sell well in the Kailua store have been replaceed withpastrami sandwiches.
Periodically introducinv creative menu items also is crucial to This month, the Kahala Mall location began serving omelettes, organic coffees, fruit bowls and fresh-squeezedr juices. The response has been and there are plans to servse breakfast inother locations. “Wes really care about the food that goes out to Sara said. “People get used to what they’rwe eating and don’t realize there coulfd be so manygood options.
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