Mad Greens, Snappy Salads to be converted to Crisp & Green
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Mad Greens overhauled its menu earlier this year.Photo courtesy of Mad Greens
The Mad Greens and Snappy Salads brands will soon have a new owner.
Crisp & Green, the fast-casual salad concept based in Minneapolis, has agreed to acquire 33 Mad Greens and Snappy Salad locations from the Coors family’s Salad Collective.
Terms were not disclosed. But the Mad Greens and Snappy Salad units will be converted to Crisp & Green, the company said. The Coors family will remain a strategic minority partner.
With the acquisition and previously scheduled restaurant openings, Crisp & Green will operate and franchise 100 locations by the end of the year, a decade after the group opened its first restaurant in Minnesota.
“We’ve spent the last decade proving that you can build a nationally recognized restaurant brand with a disciplined approach to growth, exceptional franchise partners and people who believe in what you’re building,” said Steele Smiley, founder and executive chairman of Crisp & Green, in a statement. “Reaching 100 restaurants is a tremendous milestone, but what’s even more meaningful is how we’ve gotten here. We’ve built this business without institutional capital, and this transaction represents an exciting next chapter in our story.”
Darden Coors, chairman of Salad Collective, said that bringing Mad Greens and Snappy Salads together with Crisp & Green is a natural continuation of the strategy for the collective.
“We’re excited to partner with Crisp & Green and are confident in our shared vision,” Coors said in a statement. “They bring together the right brand, seasoned leadership, and passionate franchise partners to execute the next phase of that vision.”
The Coors family acquired Mad Greens in 2013 and later merged the brand with Snappy Salads creating the 60-unit Salad Collective. The collective also includes the roughly 25-unit Tokyo Joe’s, an Asian fast-casual brand with bowls, noodles, sushi and poke.
Earlier this year, Salad Collective had brought back John Montgomery as CEO, with Coors moving to a chairman role. At the time, Mad Greens had been laying the groundwork for a reset, with a menu overhaul led by consulting group The Culinary Edge.
Montgomery said the chain, like many salad concepts, was suffering from a “post-COVID hangover,” with sales down as a segment. The company was also considering whether to convert Snappy Salads units to Mad Greens.
Salad Collective had also attempted franchising the Mad Greens concept in 2023, but never got traction, Montgomery said.
Of Crisp & Green’s 54 locations, 32 are franchised. The acquired restaurants will be company owned, but Crisp & Green plans to continue company and franchise growth, moving into new markets like Phoenix and Austin, Texas, as well as Colorado and the Dallas market with the conversion of Mad Greens and Snappy units.
“Consumers everywhere are looking for food that fits the way they want to live, and that demand isn’t limited to New York, Los Angeles or other major coastal cities,” said Smiley. “We’ve built our business by recognizing the opportunity in communities across the middle of the country, where guests want fresh, convenient food and a wellness community that accompanies it.”
