Just Salad Is Bringing Its Avocado Toast in a Box to South Florida

Just Salad, a New York-based fast-casual restaurant all about eating healthy on the go, is coming to Florida.

The chain is more than just salads, however. The menu also offers customizable, made-to-order wraps, bowls, and smoothies as well as salads. One of its most popular menu items is the "toast box": avocado toast served in — you guessed it — a box.

According to Just Salad founder and CEO Nick Kenner, the concept began when he asked himself one question: What's with the shortage of healthy fast food at an affordable price?

To find the answer, Kenner worked closely with a registered dietician to develop health-minded recipes that could be made in a New York minute. In 2006, he debuted the fast food concept at 320 Park Ave. in New York City with the goal of cultivating healthier lifestyles at a good price. Today, Just Salad serves all of its dishes raw, steamed, roasted, or baked. Keeping things affordable, ten items are priced at under $10 each.

There are currently more than 30 Just Salad locations in New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, Kansas, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

"While there are countless fitness options throughout Florida, we noticed that there are surprisingly few places to grab quality, great tasting, healthy food on the run," says Kenner, who is expanding the chain with several new locations in Florida. "It's the perfect fit for Floridians."

The first Florida location is set to open in Gainesville this spring. Several South Florida restaurants will follow later this year, in Pembroke Pines (221 N. Hiatus Rd.), Boca Raton (5050 Town Center Cir.), and Miami (1050 NW 14th St.).

In New York, the chain is best known for its reusable bowl, part of Just Salad's own "World's Largest Restaurant Reusable Program" estimated to save 75,000 pounds of plastic each year. For $1, guests can purchase a reusable bowl and receive a free topping with every use.

This month, Just Salad launched online sales of a new sustainability VIP kit as part of its expanded green standard initiative to send zero waste to landfills by 2022, while working toward saving 100,000 pounds of plastic in 2019. The $39 kit includes a reusable black bowl, nine-ounce bottle, and tote bag and gives diners additional perks such as line-skipping privileges, a free protein topping with every use through the end of 2019, and two free "essential" toppings or one free premium topping with every use after that.