As the restaurant industry quaked during the pandemic, Danbury-headquartered restaurant chain Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill fared much better than its counterparts.
According to co-owner John Tucker, the chain came into the pandemic without having to make major adjustments to its operations.
“We are focused on the third-party delivery apps like Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash,” Tucker said. “Being fast casual, we were fortunate to already be in a takeout delivery environment. And with everything on the menu being below $10, it didn”™t feel like such a hit for people.”
Co-owner Marc Miles added that the 11-restaurant chain only furloughed a single employee during the pandemic.
“We furloughed our catering manager, because catering sales were basically dead,” he said. “Everybody else stayed on, including our team on the Yale campus in New Haven, which took the biggest hit as far as sales go. That was shut down for two months because all the students were gone and then everybody was back.”
Not only did Salsa Fresca survive the pandemic, but it also expanded ”” a West Hartford site opened in December. With the pandemic showing signs of receding, the company is now ratcheting up an expansion strategy to double its presence across the Westchester/Hudson Valley and Connecticut markets over the next 12 months.
Its current locations include Bedford Hills, Carmel, Cross River, Danbury, LaGrange, Mamaroneck, New Haven, Peekskill, Poughkeepsie, West Hartford and Yorktown.
Part of the expansion strategy involved the recent hiring of Eric Friedman, a former team director for New England at Chipotle, as the company”™s new chief operating officer.
“We”™re in construction right now in Westport and in Fairfield, Connecticut, and in Brewster, New York,” Friedman said. “These three restaurants will be opening within the next few months, probably two to four months. And the other locations that are really going to be filling in will be in Fairfield County, Dutchess County, Westchester and out more towards Hartford.”
“There”™s an opportunity to double in size just in our current backyard,” added Miles, who noted that other markets could also see the chain. “It”™s going get to a point where we”™re able to very easily start in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and New Jersey. There”™s definitely an opportunity to grow all throughout New England and the Northeast.”
Salsa Fresca has also been fortunate in keeping cost sunder control despite the recent uptick in food prices.
“We”™re working with our food purveyors very closely to monitor food costs,” Miles said. “We have not made any menu price adjustments, and we want to make sure that we”™re respecting the idea that everything is under $10.”
Miles acknowledged that the chain”™s success has not gone unnoticed. He has fielded inquiries from financiers asking about investing in the company. But there is one potential growth area that Salsa Fresca is not considering at this point: a grocery line under its brand.
“We”™ve talked about it,” Tucker said. “And then we realize that we should just stay focused on serving our guests. We want to do one thing very well.”
