Chopt Creative Salad Company is opening its second Triangle location — and its first in Chapel Hill.
The fast casual restaurant will open in late April or early May at Eastgate Crossing at 1490 Fordham Blvd.
When Tony Shure and Colin McCabe, co-founders of Chopt, were faced with fast food options in 2001, they knew they could make something better.
“We made it our mission to make sure if you ate a salad at Chopt, you weren’t sacrificing any of the flavor you would get eating pizza, burgers or burritos, and beyond that we wanted to surpass those flavors,” McCabe said.
Chopt, which has over 40 restaurants now, uses seasonal ingredients from local farmers and authentic flavors from all over the world to create a variety of salad combinations. Every 60 days, they create a few new salads.
McCabe said Chopt saw that North Carolina had cultures and communities focused on wellness and fitness, along with a lack of what Chopt offers — flavors in a salad form with a fast setting.
“The reactions to our restaurants in Raleigh and Charlotte have proven what we thought to be true,” McCabe said.
On opening day, Chopt will continue a tradition called Chopt Gives Day, where the community can enjoy free salads while also making a small donation to a local charity.
“From the beginning, we wanted the idea of changing the way America eats and changing the future of fast food,” McCabe said.
