Giant Co. Continues Partnership with WOWorks Eateries

The Giant Co. is continuing its partnership with WOWorks, the parent company of several good-for-you restaurant brands: The two companies have opened four new locations, including two Saladworks and Frutta Bowls co-branded restaurant store-within-a-store locations. 

WOWorks recently opened a co-branded Saladworks and Frutta Bowls location on Nov. 12 inside the Giant store at 2201 Cottman Avenue in Philadelphia. A second co-branded Saladworks and Frutta Bowls location opened at a newly remodeled Giant store at 7150 Hamilton Boulevard in Trexlertown, Pa., on Nov. 22. Further, a new Saladworks location opened on Nov. 29 in the newly remodeled Giant store on 2300 Linglestown Road in Harrisburg, Pa.

“We are thrilled to launch this Saladworks and Frutta Bowls co-branded restaurant inside Giant, as this showcases how we can open our two great healthy-halo brands together needing only 200 square feet – a perfectly sized restaurant for grocery stores,” noted Kelly Roddy, CEO of St. Petersburg, Fla.-based WOWorks. “This grocery store model is gaining traction because they are quicker to build out and open, have attractive back-end efficiencies, and give customers more menu options covering all dayparts to help increase store foot-traffic.”

The rollout of the Saladworks/Frutta Bowls co-branded model is part of WOWorks’ store-within-a-store growth strategy focused on opening several restaurant brands together in nontraditional locations with design and buildout flexibility and greater efficiencies because of shared back-end operations and equipment.

Further, on Dec. 10, WOWorks opened its first franchisee-owned store-within-a-store Frutta Bowls location inside the Giant store at 4377 Swamp Road in Doylestown, Pa. “We are excited to offer GIANT customers' Frutta Bowls' menu of fresh healthy smoothies, bowls and bites,” said Jordan Rideout, co-owner of Frutta Bowls at the Doylestown Giant store.

Fully owned by New York-based Centre Lane Partners LLC, WOWorks is currently seeking qualified franchise partners interested in multiunit and single-unit ownership. Those interested can visit https://franchise.saladworks.com/ or https://franchise.fruttabowls.com/.

WOWorks’ full portfolio consists of Saladworks, the nation’s leading fast-casual salad brand; Frutta Bowls, which serves a variety of superfood bowls, fresh fruit smoothies, protein bites and more; Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, a Mediterranean restaurant concept; and, most recently, The Simple Greek, offering a fresh and healthy take on traditional Greek recipes in a fast-casual setting. WOWorks seeks to drive explosive growth across all of its brands through a range of channels, both traditional and nontraditional, including ghost kitchens, food trucks and grocery retail. Its other food retailer partners include Walmart and The Kroger Co., both of which have opened Saladworks locations.

With more than 35,000 associates supporting nearly 190 stores, 132 pharmacies, 107 fuel stations, and 150-plus online pickup hubs and grocery delivery service in hundreds of ZIP codes, The Giant Co., based in Carlisle, Pa., encompasses the following banners: Giant, Martin’s, Giant Heirloom Market, Giant Direct and Martin’s Direct. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize operates more than 2,000 stores across 23 states and is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in the United States.

Walmart operates approximately 10,500 stores under 48 banners in 24 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100. Serving 60 million households annually nationwide through a digital shopping experience, and almost 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names, Cincinnati-based Kroger is No. 3 on The PG 100.