The Big Salad, a chain of restaurants in Metro Detroit serving fresh, custom-made salads, healthy and hearty soups and a wide range of sumptuous sandwiches today announced the opening of its first of four planned Ann Arbor, Michigan locations and fifth restaurant overall in the Metro Detroit area.
The Ann Arbor restaurant, located at 2793 Plymouth Rd in the Plymouth Road Mall, just a few short miles from the U.S. 23 freeway, is The Big Salad’s third franchise location, increasing its west side presence which began with the opening of its Novi location in September 2012.
Franchisee Kevin Vlazny initially became interested in The Big Salad due to its upscale environment and menu of healthy and fresh food choices. “I was attracted to The Big Salad because it was a new concept with healthy and fresh food served in an upscale and fast casual environment that’s perfectly suited for the lifestyle of Ann Arbor residents,” Vlazny said. “I also liked knowing that as a Michigan-based company it was going to provide me with the personal corporate support I wanted.”
The Ann Arbor resident is looking forward to a robust business at his new restaurant which is located in a high traffic area with a strong University of Michigan presence. “I chose the Plymouth Road location because of the University of Michigan’s activity at the old Pfizer building and all the traffic I see from my home on north campus,” Vlazny said. “I feel like it will be a really good spot for us.”
The Big Salad’s founder and owner, John Bornoty, is equally optimistic about the new location “We’re extremely excited about our new restaurant,” said Bornoty. “Not only does it add to our presence on the west side of Detroit, it’s located just a few short miles from the U.S. 23 Freeway, making is easily accessible for people who want a healthy yet hearty meal in a relaxing, yet upscale atmosphere at an affordable price.”
Bornoty also sees the potential for further growth of his restaurant chain in Ann Arbor.
“Ultimately, we hope to end up with four Ann Arbor locations,” Bornoty explained. “This city is in its own little world. Between central campus, north campus, Briarwood Mall and downtown there are areas we can go that will draw completely different customers.”
The Big Salad will be bringing its healthy yet hearty menu to its new Ann Arbor location, including its exclusive custom-made salads which are featured as a main course instead of a side dish. With three types of lettuce (iceberg, spinach and romaine), 30 vegetable toppings, 30 dressings, eight meat and seafood toppings, and eight dry toppings, there are over 17 million possible custom combinations salad chefs are able to construct for customers. In addition to custom-made salads, The Big Salad offers 12 entrée salads, including four which are less than 400 calories – Greek (200), California (260), Wedge (360) and Baja (380).
The Big Salad menu also includes seven sandwiches and 16 soups all of which are healthy yet hearty. Six of the soups check in at 150 calories or less, including Chicken Noodle (70), Tuscan Wedding (90), Minestrone (90), Tomato Basil Bisque (140), Mexican Chicken Tortilla (140) and Chicken Chili (140) while two of the sandwiches contain less than 400 calories – Cranberry Turkey and Caprese.
There’s virtually something for everyone at the Big Salad,” said Bornoty. “For people who aren’t worried about calories, our Wisconsin Cheddar and Chicken Pot Pie soups, Cobb Salad and Classic Italian sandwich provide a nice complement to our lighter fare.”
The Big Salad, LLC, is a chain of five Metro Detroit restaurants specializing in custom salads, healthy soups and a wide range of sumptuous sandwiches. The first Big Salad location opened in Grosse Pointe, Mich. in 2008, followed by a second restaurant in Troy, Mich. in 2010 and a third location in Royal Oak, Mich. in 2011. In 2012, The Big Salad expanded to the west side of Detroit with its Novi restaurant which opened in September 2012 followed by the Ann Arbor location this month. The restaurant chain has plans to open 200 stores in strategically located metro areas across the country within the next 10 years. Learn more at http://www.thebigsalad.net.
