In 1986, John Scardapane developed the Saladworks concept while working as a gourmet chef at a southern New Jersey country club.  The idea, provide fanaticly fresh, made to order, entree sized salads as an alternative food offering for consumers on the go. He believed that consumers deserved a meal that was healthy, quickly accessible and delicious.

When Scardapane pitched the Saladworks concept to the higher ups at the Cherry Hill Mall in south Jersey, he wasnt initially met with rousing encouragement.  Being told that a salad only business would never survive, John was prodded into adding sandwiches to his menu.  But the salads-first concept proved itself when Saladworks began outselling all of the mall's burger and pizza franchises in its inaugural year. The stores sandwiches were quickly dropped, and a new kind of dining experience took root.

Saladworks continually won over new fans with its fresh take on salads.  Johns vision meant an end to the days of chemical coated tomatoes and brown-tinged lettuce.  He decided that salads should be made to order, chopped on location and assembled right in front of your eyes.  His appetizing, imaginative salad offerings served in substantial portions proved to be a winning formula that none of his one time naysayers could have ever imagined. Spurred by his early success and growing following, John expanded Saladworks from its humble food court origins to an additional twelve locations.  As the company experienced incredible consumer response, it became obvious that America was ready for a nationwide salad explosion.  With the first franchise unit, Saladworks began its rapid ascent towards becoming the nation's No1 salad franchise.  By 2002, there were an additional twenty one locations, each attracting its own fans with John's time tested, winning formula.

Before long, the brand had grown to nearly one hundred stores, leading the nation in annual sales. Saladworks stores were sprouting up all over the place, including Philly, Maryland and Florida.  Running at full steam, the company has been propelled by a culture of teamwork and customer driven values that helped place Saladworks in the country's top 50 Powerhouse Chains, as voted by Nations Restaurant News.  Poised for even greater achievements, Saladworks is slated for burgeoning expansion: over 1,000 locations nationwide over the next 10 years.  This aggressive business plan will bring Saladworks fanaticly fresh experience to dozens of markets hungry for a fresh and healthy dining experience. With the addition of Commerce Banks founder, Vernon Hill, to the restaurants executive committee, Saladworks will benefit from yet another visionary leader.  Much like John, Vernon molded a single store branch into a multi-state powerhouse by making friendly, personalized customer service his number one priority. Commerces fresh, open approach turned the banking world on its head while empowering the customer with more choices and fewer restrictions than ever before. Vernon and John will now work to fuse their philosophies and create a nation of Saladworks fans.

Saladworks is, more than ever, prepared to deliver the ultimate in health-conscious, fan driven dining. With its trailblazing leadership and sensational, fanatic'ly fresh salads, Saladworks' future as the nation's No1 salad franchise is a bright one.