Salata, the Next Generation Salad Bar, opened its Pearland location at 2810 Business Center Dr., Ste. 120 on July 9.
“It’s the first store of its kind in Pearland,” said Director of Product Development David Laborde.
Salata features small and regular sized salads, salad wraps and kids’ meals. The customer chooses the option that he or she wants and moves down a giant salad bar, where staff adds choices from over 50 toppings, including chicken, salmon, quinoa, tofu, 30 different vegetables, seven fruits, cheese, nuts and five different kinds of lettuce, soups and 10 dressings per customer direction.
“All of our toppings and dressings are made in-house with no additives or preservatives. We even bake our own croutons and pita bread,” said Laborde.
There are plenty of options for vegetarians, vegans and customers who prefer gluten-free selections as well.
Kids have plenty to choose from. Salata’s Kids’ Meal comes in a custom-designed cardboard box with six compartments “so the foods don’t touch,” added Laborde with a smile. “Kids or parents can choose any five items, including one protein, and then the last cup is used for dressing or a cookie. Some kids fill all six cups with one or two things. We’ll do it however the customer prefers,” he said.
The focal point of Salata Pearland is the Tea Tap, which features eight different flavored teas and lemonades on tap. “We just introduced Mango and Black Currant tea,” said Laborde. “Customers can mix their own unique flavors if they want to.”
Laborde said that the Pearland Salata has been very busy. “Each part of the area has a different feel or culture to it. We’ve found that the lunch and dinner crowds are about the same size here, where in many locations, there’s a huge lunch rush, but dinner is pretty calm,” he said.
Salata began in 2005 with a location in downtown Houston after restaurateur Berge Simonian noticed that more and more guests were requesting fresh, healthy salads with made-from-scratch ingredients. Berge, along with his brother-in-law Tony, opened the very first Salata in October 2005. The Pearland location is the 45th Salata store.
Entrees range from $6 for the Kids’ Meal to $8 for the large salad. Soups, desserts and drinks are extra. For more information, visit Salata.com.
