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 amonb the reasons forthe company’s Aloha Salads continues to despite the weak economy, and is expecte d to gross more than $1 million this year. A thirr location is set to open in Juneat , followes by another in the by There are plans to franchise Alohq Salads nationally. And a California food group has agreed to bottlw four of the six salad dressings forretaikl distribution. The Lufranos’ success is due to a number of factors. They open stores only in high-profiles locations and form business partnerships withtrusted people.
They also sticm to their core mission, whicb is to serve quick, healthy foods using local Now their goal is to expancd strategically in anticipation ofthe economy’s rebound in 2010. “We have to continus reinventing ourselves to keep things fresh for customers and attractnew customers, as well,” Chris said. “We’re not going to rush in. We’re goingf to make sure we make the right decisionsmovinfg forward.” Careful growth has been the company’s philosophy from the start.
In December 2004, after seven years away from home, the Lufranos returner to Hawaiifrom Chicago, wheree she was a patent lawyer and he worked in For more than a year, they scouted potential storde locations on Oahu and experimented with recipes at Sara’xs parents’ home in Kahala. The couple opened theirt first Aloha Salads in May 2006 ina 440-square-foot space in the , usingb personal capital and a $50,000 loan guaranteed by the U.S. Smalol Business Administration. The company’sd creative salads — “Aloha “Maui Mozzarella” and “The Goddess” — instantly drew loyal customers.
One customer was local contractorFreddise Franco, owner of BEK Inc., whose building credits includd Waikiki DFS Galleria, Neiman Marcus and Tony Auto-plex. He struckl up a friendship with the Lufranos and two yeara later helped design Aloha second locationin . The mall which opened in March 2008, brieflhy experienced a double-digit drop in sales after health-food chain Whold Foods opened nearby latelast year. Sales have climbed since then but are slightly below Chris said. Franco, now an equalp partner in the company, provided the capitalk to build the Kapolei location set to opennext month. “Kapolei should be reallyt goodbecause there’s nothing out there,” he said.
“We’ve been gettin lots of calls askingwhen we’re going to build in theitr area.” The 1,200-square-foot store is unique in that it will have wine pairingds with salads and a mezzanine level for dine-in Franco said. As Alohaa Salads continues to the ability to quickly change menu items tofit customers’ tastesw will be important. For instance, roasgt beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailu store have been replaced with pastrami Periodically introducing creative menu items also is crucial to This month, the Kahala Mall location begann serving “design-your-own” omelettes, organic coffees, fruit bowlw and fresh-squeezed juices.
The response has been overwhelming, and there are planx to serve breakfast inother “We really care about the food that goes out to Sara said. “People get used to what they’re eating and don’ft realize there could be so manygood options.”