When we realized last September that Loop lunch staple Freshii was actually the first American outpost of a Canadian chain, we had no idea it would come to this: Chicago-based über-franchiser David Grossman has signed a deal to open 80 (that's right, eight-zero) Freshii locations throughout the city.
Grossman recently signed a lease for his first location in Chicago's Water Tower Place on N. Michigan Avenue to open in June 2009. Water Tower Place is Chicago's premier shopping destination with a stunning eight-level atrium featuring more than 100 stores, restaurants and boutiques.Grossman has another lease signed for Block 37, a new development at 108 North State Street in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago that will offer an array restaurants and retail, and is scheduled to open in September 2009. He hopes to open four corporate stores in 2009 and five more in 2010. Grossman then plans to franchise locations to qualified individuals.
The wellness-oriented DIY restaurant divides its salad/wrap options into three categories by health — nutrient-rich choices like beets, portobello mushrooms, and grilled asparagus are categorized as "24/7," while on the other end of the spectrum things like smoked bacon or blue cheese are wrist-slapped as "splurges." A friend of MP who regularly eats lunch at Freshii has complained to me many times that, while the food is delish, she feels incredibly guilty every time she falls off the wagon into the "splurge" category — I can only imagine the result of nearly a hundred new guilt-inducing locations. It's staggering.
But seriously, folks. As long as Grossman keeps the quality up, this is infinitely preferable to a rabbitlike proliferation of nearly any other fast food option. And, poking around their site, I turned up this incredibly entertaining nutrition calculator, where you can build your salad or wrap of choice and watch the calorie count rise!
80 New Freshii Units Set for Chicago [QSR Magazine]
Freshii [MenuPages]
Freshii [Official Site]
