Wellington Management leads group investing in fast-casual restaurant brand
Just Salad, the fast-casual restaurant chain, has raised $200 million from an investor group led by Wellington Management, alongside D1 Capital Partners, Neuberger Berman, and Stripes, the company said Monday.
The New York City-based Just Salad said transaction proceeds will be used to support new unit growth as well as investment in menu innovation, advanced technology initiatives, and customer experience.
“The quick-service food industry is in the early days of disruption, and the average consumer desperately wants healthy, craveable, convenient, and accessible options; no one does that better than Just Salad,” Nick Kenner, founder and CEO of Just Salad, said in a statement. “We have a tremendous runway to build Just Salad into a leading national restaurant brand, and this investment demonstrates the confidence in that opportunity and our team’s ability to achieve that goal.”
Just Salad opened in New York City in 2006. Since then, it has expanded its menu to include salads, wraps, warm bowls, soups, and smoothies.
Just Salad operates nearly 100 locations across urban and residential markets in seven East Coast states: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
It’s a Certified B corporation, committed to meeting standards for social and environmental performance. It is home to the longest-running reusable bowl program in the U.S. restaurant industry.
"Just Salad offers consumers a great product at an attractive price and stands out from other restaurant companies with its strong brand and impressive same-store sales growth,” Michael Carmen, co-head of private investments at Wellington Management, said. “This growth is outpacing others in the fast-casual category and is being driven by increased consumer traffic during the past year."
Wellington Management, D1 Capital Partners, Neuberger Berman (on behalf of client funds), and Stripes invest across both private and public markets with experience in the consumer and retail sector.
BofA Securities acted as exclusive placement agent to Just Salad on the transaction and Latham & Watkins provided legal counsel.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
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