By Tracy Morin
As summer approaches, customers naturally gravitate toward lighter fare like salads. But salads are also perfect as shared starters, healthy mains and versatile to-go options, making them winning sales items year-round.
The key is to make your salads stand out rather than wilt into the background. Here, three operators who are serving up attention-grabbing greens share their top tips to maximize sales success in this essential menu category.
6 Salad Strategies
1. Nail the basics… While creativity is important, Phillip Mariano, executive chef at the two-location Pizza Domenica in New Orleans, emphasizes that a pizzeria should start with the standards. “Caesar salad is a must and dominates our salad sales, selling twice as much as any other salad,” he says. “We think of salads in three categories: a creamy dressing like blue cheese or ranch with a crisp lettuce such as romaine or Little Gem; a bright vinaigrette with leafy greens like arugula or spinach; and a classic Caesar. What you put on them is up to you, but it’s important to offer those three options.”
Similarly, at the 88-year-old Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, Connecticut (now with seven locations), familiar classics rule. “We want to play the hits that customers love but update them in a way that’s exciting,” says Bret Lunsford, executive chef and director of culinary. “We offer a house salad, Caesar salad, wedge salad and chopped salad. All of them are instantly recognizable on a menu but are presented in a way true to Sally’s: classic, iconic, but elevated in an approachable, inviting way.”
2. …But think outside the box. When crafting salads, Chris Brady, co-owner and president of the nine-location Timber Pizza Co., based in Washington, D.C., believes in taking chances with less traditional ingredients. “Peruvian sweet peppers or nectarines, when in season, have really helped us stand out and created some of our most popular topping combinations,” he says. “The combination of sweet, heat and salty shines through on many of our salads as well as our top pies.
“Fresh and inventive salads have always been a differentiator for us,” Brady continues. “We’ve never been a ‘traditional pizza place’ with basic salads, so even our first rendition of a Caesar [which debuted in January] has a fun twist.” Timber’s version, The Little C (TLC), features a romaine/Tuscan kale blend, Tajín breadcrumbs, Peruvian peppers, Parmesan and Miso Caesar Dressing for a modern-day take that’s layered with flavor.
3. Create winning combinations. When you’re assembling salads, all of the ingredients should work together—in taste as well as texturally and visually. “Overall, think about the components that are in your salad,” Lunsford suggests. “They should tell a cohesive story and show different flavors, textures and sometimes temperatures to keep it interesting.”
“In salads, I like to include something crunchy, like spiced nuts or croutons; something creamy, whether that’s the dressing or a cheese like chèvre; and something bright and bold in flavor, such as vinegars, peppers or tomatoes,” Mariano says. However, he doesn’t recommend letting customers take the wheel on create-your-own combos: “Unless you’re a buffet, giving customers too many options in a high-volume setting will only slow down your kitchen staff.”
Lunsford agrees with offering a set menu of specialty salads—it keeps operations flowing more smoothly and is more cost-effective, for the pizzeria and its customers—but you may choose to allow for modifications when feasible. And, because substandard ingredients have no place to hide on a salad plate, a set menu of salads helps ensure freshness.
4. Dress ’em down. Dressings: housemade or premade? Mariano highly recommends making your own. “Every premade dressing I’ve tried tastes dull and flat,” he says. “If making dressings consistently isn’t realistic for your staff, I recommend starting with a simple base [premade] dressing and improving it with a predetermined amount of acid, fresh herbs and salt.”
At Timber Pizza Co., housemade dressings win the day—an approach that reinforces its focus on high-quality ingredients. “Having gotten our start in local farmers markets and having a passion for local collaboration,” Brady says, “we always choose fresh and in-house.”
Making your own dressings also differentiates you from competitors. “Everything on the Sally’s menu is housemade—it’s a badge of honor for us, but it also echoes the artisanal process we take when making our apizza,” Lunsford says. “It certainly costs a bit more in both food purchasing and labor, but it gives us much more flexibility, seasonally as well as creatively. It also ensures that these offerings can only be had at Sally’s.”
Lunsford adds that, because salad-buying customers are often looking for a healthier option, it’s important to offer some healthier dressings and vinaigrettes—while making sure they’re also exciting and full-flavored.
5. Cross-utilize ingredients. Like any other menu item, maximize salad ingredients by using them for other dishes, including your pizzas. “At Pizza Domenica, our chopped salad includes many of our pizza toppings,” Mariano says. “A caprese salad with basil pesto and a pesto pizza using many of the same ingredients can easily coexist on the same menu. Almost anything you would put on a pizza can also make sense on a salad.”
Some salad ingredients may be difficult to repurpose for pizzas, but Timber Pizza Co. is up for the challenge. “It takes some creative combinations, especially on pizzas—sweet potato, nectarines and some of our top seasonal salad features aren’t traditional pizza toppings,” Brady admits. “But we’ve never been afraid to take chances and are proud to have a very strong fabric of cross-utilization throughout our menus, from empanadas to salad to our pizzas.”
At Sally’s, it’s common to use items from the pizza line—including tomatoes, olives, onions, mushrooms, pepperoni, bell peppers and mozzarella—for salads. “Cross-ultilization keeps your inventory and order guide under control,” Lunsford says. “But it’s always nice to have some specialty items specific for an individual dish, so I’d recommend trying it to keep things interesting. And who knows—something you order for your salads might spark a moment of genius for your next pizza special!”
6. Market for maximum sales success. As universally loved as pizza is, salads help you appeal to a wider audience, so let customers know about the option. “When a group decides where to eat, they usually start by naming categories—pizza, sushi, burgers, etc.,” Mariano says. “Once they agree on a category, they narrow it down to their favorite spots. Salads exist on our menu for the minority: the person who really wanted a poke bowl for lunch but knows they’ll be happy with our arugula salad with shrimp. It’s important to let customers know that even when they aren’t craving pizza, they’ll still find something to enjoy at Pizza Domenica.”
As part of your marketing, communicate to customers how your salads can fit in with their health and dietary needs. “Customers look for options that fit all sorts of dietary restrictions, allergies and personal preferences,” Lunsford says. “It can only help your business to cast a wider net and give options to a customer who might not have been able to eat there otherwise. Salads can also be a great addition to any order and bring in some extra sales as well. At Sally’s, we want to have a seat at the table ready for anyone.”
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.
