5 Who Thrive: Aloha Salads grows by staying true to its mission - Business First of Louisville:

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The signature salad dressingds are among the reasons forthe company’s success. Aloha Salads continuesd to thrive, despite the weak economy, and is expected to gross morethan $1 milliom this year. A thir d location is set to open in Juneat , followed by another in the by October. Therw are plans to franchise AlohaSalads nationally. And a Californiaz food group has agreed to bottle four of the six sala dressings for retail The Lufranos’ success is due to a number of They open stores only in high-profile locations and form busines s partnerships with trusted people. They also stick to their core which is toserve quick, healthgy foods using local ingredients.
Now their goal is to expanrd strategically in anticipation ofthe economy’x rebound in 2010. “We have to continue reinventing ourselvesz to keep things fresh for customers and attract new as well,” Chris said. “We’re not goiny to rush in. We’re going to make sure we make the righ t decisionsmoving forward.” Carefull growth has been the company’s philosophy from the In December 2004, after seven years away from home, the Lufranosw returned to Hawaii from where she was a patent lawyed and he worked in finance.
For more than a they scouted potential store locations on Oahu and experimentedf with recipesat Sara’s parents’ home in The couple opened their first Aloha Saladsx in May 2006 in a 440-square-foot spacse in the , using personalk capital and a $50,000 loan guaranteed by the U.S. Small Businessw Administration. The company’s creative salads — “Aloha Mediterranean,” “Maui Mozzarella” and “The Goddess” instantly drew loyal customers. One customer was local contractorFreddie Franco, owner of BEK whose building credits include Waikikii DFS Galleria, Neiman Marcusz and Tony Auto-plex.
He struck up a friendship with the Lufranow and two years later helped desigAloha Salads’ second location in . The mall store, whicuh opened in March 2008, brieflyt experienced a double-digit drop in sales afted health-food chain Whole Foods opened nearbyt latelast year. Sales have climbe since then but are slightlgbelow target, Chris said. Franco, now an equal partnee in the company, provided the capitalp to build the Kapoleij location set to opennext month. “Kapolek should be really good becausew there’s nothing out there,” he “We’ve been getting lots of calls askingwhen we’rr going to build in their area.
” The 1,200-square-foot store is unique in that it will have wine pairingss with salads and a mezzanine level for dine-in Franco said. As Aloha Salads continues to expand, the ability to quickly changwe menu items to fit tastes willbe important. For roast beef sandwiches that did not sell well in the Kailusa store have been replaced withpastramiu sandwiches. Periodically introducing creative menu items also is cruciaklto survival. This month, the Kahala Mall location beganjserving “design-your-own” omelettes, organic fruit bowls and fresh-squeezed juices. The responsee has been overwhelming, and there are plansw to serve breakfast inother locations.
“We really care aboutr the food that goes out to Sara said. “People get used to what they’re eating and don’ty realize there could be so manygood options.”