A new drive-thru salad bar should scare legacy fast food brands

Salad and Go's six locations are in Arizona.

Buying food there works just like most drive-thrus. First, you order at the outdoor menu ...

 

... and then pull up to the window where you pay and collect your meal.

Customers can order salads in bowls or wraps.

 

If they don't want to eat in their cars, they can park and sit at one of the outdoor tables in front.

 

The chain also sells soups. Here's a three bean vegetable chili.

 

There are also a few lemonades on the menu, like the cucumber mint one pictured below ...

 

... and smoothies. The one, about to be blended, features pineapple, mango, spinach, kale, and ginger.

 

Salad and Go sources its ingredients from local farmers in bulk. Not all of the ingredients are organic, but Christofellis says the chain will expand its organic offerings more as it grows.

 

The US market for healthy fast-casual food has grown by 550% since 1999, more than 10 times the growth seen in the fast food industry over the same period.

 Source: The Washington Post

Many fast food brands are trying to keep up with lower-calorie chains like Dig Inn and Sweetgreen. For example, McDonald's and Chick-fil-A are now testing kale and broccolini, and Taco Bell recently added more vegetable-rich options to its menu.

 

Salad and Go fits into this trend. "We started asking ourselves, 'What if we could make great-tasting and good-for- you food, with the same convenience, affordability and speed as traditional drive-thru fast food?," Christofellis says.

Since it's a drive-thru, Christofellis says the chain is competing more with traditional fast food mega-brands, like McDonald's and Burger King, than fast casual restaurants, like Chipotle and Panera Bread.

If the chain continues to expand, it may pose a threat to legacy fast food chains.