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Oct 25, 2024

Eat Healthy at Salad House in Manahawkin - The SandPaper

NEW IN TOWN: Owner Joey Colatrella (shown above with fiancée Chelsea Saggio) offers a wide variety of salads, wraps, soups, bowls and smoothies. (Photo by Ryan Morrill) “Food That Fuels” is the slogan

NEW IN TOWN: Owner Joey Colatrella (shown above with fiancée Chelsea Saggio) offers a wide variety of salads, wraps, soups, bowls and smoothies. (Photo by Ryan Morrill)

“Food That Fuels” is the slogan of Salad House, a rapidly growing restaurant concept that has opened its doors in Manahawkin in the east end of the shopping center at 712 East Bay Ave.

Founded in 2011 and franchised since 2017, Salad House planted roots in Millburn with Joey Cioffi, a 30-plus-year restaurant veteran, at the helm serving as founder and CEO.

The inspiration? He could not find a family-friendly craft salad location in the suburbs like he found so easily in Manhattan.

Over time, the focus flipped from just the health-conscious suburban adult, to fueling the entire family and giving options to those who are looking for a reliable and consistent spot in their town. The concept brings corporate experience with mom-and-pop heart. The Salad House’s entire corporate team is made up of born and bred New Jersey residents, all of whom have also been operators in the restaurant business.

On the Salad House website, thesaladhouse.com, Cioffi writes, “The Salad House has been generations in the making. My father came to the United States from Italy with the hopes of achieving the American Dream. Eventually, he opened up his own business, Cioffi’s deli in Springfield, New Jersey. It was at the family restaurant that I really gained a lot of my experience in the restaurant industry. As a kid, I can remember doing everything from washing dishes, working the cash register, cooking food, and fulfilling large catering orders. What seemed like just helping out the family business ended up leading to an incredible passion for serving up quality food, a value that was instilled in me during years of hard work at the deli with my father. Ultimately, the concept for The Salad House was born from this passion of providing high quality food to our community. I created The Salad House with one single purpose: to provide a fresh, fast-casual experience that was both healthy and family friendly. What started out as a vision, born from the values I learned as a child, has become a rapidly expanding healthy fast casual franchise concept that has helped me follow in my father’s footsteps and fulfill my own American Dream.”

(Supplied Photo)

Salad House bills itself as a health-conscious fast casual restaurant brand that serves up fresh, made-to-order customizable salad creations to eat in or take home. In addition to its various salad menu items, Salad House also offers grain bowls, sandwiches, wraps, soups, appetizers, smoothies and an extensive catering menu.

Joey Colatrella, owner/operator of the Manahawkin restaurant, has been with the franchise for four years. He also owns the Salad House in Toms River. He said there are currently 19 locations in New Jersey, but the company is looking at opening 10 more, including in New York and Virginia.

One of the popular salads on the menu is “Eat Cobb,” featuring baby greens, tomato, egg, bacon, avocado, blue cheese crumbles and grilled chicken, along with ranch as a suggested dressing.

He said a favorite among the grains is the “burrito bowl,” which includes brown rice, corn, black beans, jalapeños, pico de gallo, cheddar and blackened chicken, with zesty avocado as the recommended dressing.

“We’ve been doing well here,” said Colatrella. “We’re certainly catering to the active crowd, as well as people who want to find alternative choices for lunch and dinner.”

Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 609-549-0383 or visit thesaladhouse.com.

— Eric Englund

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