Strictly Salads: Fourleaf's Assembly-Line Concept Draws a Packed Lunch Crowd

His wife of 20 years thinks it's too early, but Lee Moffett arrives at the couple's salad bar in Centennial by 7:30 each morning to grill and prepare the fresh steak, chicken, shrimp and tofu offered by Fourleaf Chopped Salads. In business at the intersection of Arapahoe Road and Clinton Street since

That customer may find that choosing what to eat is the longest part of the buying process, since Fourleaf's chopped salads are quickly prepared in an assembly line of nine employees. The final stop? All of the ingredients are chopped on a large cutting board with a rocking knife, tossed in a bowl with the dressing of choice, and topped with fresh pepper and croutons.

Lee and Monika Moffett have both worked in the food industry for many years, yet it wasn't until July 2003 when they decided they were ready to start their own restaurant. "We were just waiting for the right opportunity," Lee Moffett says. "It had to be a business that we could do together that wasn't late-night that gave us time with our kids."

At first the Moffetts looked into buying a franchise, but they decided they didn't want to invest in yet another sandwich shop or pizza place. They did realize however, if they were going to focus on lunch, an assembly-line operation seemed most convenient because, "we had to get people in and out, and we had to do it fast," Moffett says.

The impetus for Fourleaf came from Monika's brother in New York who called and told them about a deli near his home with a small salad station where you could pick your own ingredients for your salad. There was always a line outside the door of the deli, the brother said, but everyone was coming for the salads, not sandwiches. Lee Moffett, after flying to New York to see the business, saw its potential, but he wondered if he and his wife could operate an entire business based on salads profitably, especially after moving the concept to metro Denver.

Fourleaf made the move, expanding the concept of a salad bar to a whole restaurant and borrowing the assembly-line technique from other food out-lets. Fourleaf now has a line out the door during its weekday lunch rush, and it sells approximately 500 salads each day--profitably.

"It's modern because people are more concerned about what they're eating," Moffett says. "And what are all of the chains adding to their menus? Salads! They're trying to keep pace with us by adding salads and promoting healthy eating."

Another strictly-salads restaurant, Mad Greens, was started in Park Meadows less than a year after Fourleaf opened its doors, but Moffett says he isn't concerned with competition. "Mad Greens is the only thing close to what we do, and I don't worry about them," he said. "Customers that have been to both say the same things: We're less expensive, we're fresher and our dressings taste better. For me it's all about value."

He said, too, that another Fourleaf location is in the offing, but that new spot has to be "unique," and it hasn't been picked yet.

One thing is certain, however. Fourleaf will stick to salads.

"I think we would lose some credibility if we did paninis, wraps and so on," Moffett said. "If people want a great salad, they know where to go."