Saladworks sells salads, grain bowls and sandwiches. A new branch of the restaurant chain recently opened at Duckridge Landing Center in the same store as a Frutta Bowls. (Photos courtesy of WoWorks)

A 2-in-1 restaurant with a focus on plant-based food has opened near Brandermill.

Saladworks and Frutta Bowls opened last week in the same store at 14446 Hull Street Road in west Chesterfield.

The two restaurant concepts share a 1,700-square-foot space in Duckridge Landing, a relatively new commercial development on the Swift Creek Reservoir.

In addition to salads, Saladworks also sells sandwiches, soups, grain bowls and wraps. Frutta Bowls sells acai bowls, smoothies, protein bites and fruit toast.

The local franchisees behind the Chesterfield restaurant are husband and wife team Eddie and Cherie Sanchez, who moved to the area from New Jersey four years ago. Eddie Sanchez said they’ve gotten to know Saladworks and Frutta Bowls, which were founded in the Garden State, as customers.

“We went to either restaurant for lunch and fell in love with both concepts. They are filling meals,” he said.

When they moved to the Richmond area, they came up with the idea of ​​franchising Saladworks because they felt the concept had a chance in their part of town. Sanchez said Frutta Bowls seemed like a worthwhile addition to Saladworks to appeal to a broader customer base.

“The statistics show that Saladworks is aimed at a middle-aged and older audience,” Sanchez said. “Frutta Bowls is definitely more geared towards the younger audience.”

Local franchisees Cherie and Eddie Sanchez, who operate Saladworks and Frutta Bowls restaurants, which opened at a shared location in Chesterfield.

Saladworks and Frutta Bowls are owned by WoWorks, a Florida-based company that also owns several other restaurant chains.

Founded in 1986, Saladworks has more than 150 locations in nearly 20 states and worldwide. Frutta Bowls, founded in 2016, has more than 30 locations.

Sanchez said he and Cherie wanted to meet the demand in Chesterfield for healthier dining options with the two brands, which market themselves as healthy fast-casual restaurants.

“People are paying more attention to their health and trying to eat healthy,” he said.

The Chesterfield restaurant has an indoor area with space for about 25 people and a terrace. There are self-service kiosks.

Sanchez said opening the restaurant cost about $600,000, including build-out, equipment and franchise fees.

While the franchisees have no concrete plans to open additional Saladworks or Frutta Bowls locations in the near future, Sanchez said they would be interested in expanding their footprint someday. Sanchez, a retired Marine, and his wife both formerly worked in medical equipment sales.

The Sanchezes’ location is currently the only Saladworks location in the Richmond area. Until recently, there was a Saladworks in the Reynolds Crossing shopping center in Henrico, which has since closed, as well as a location in Short Pump, which closed in early 2020. The couple’s Frutta Bowls are the first to open in the Richmond area.

The co-branded restaurant opened a day after local seafood chain Latitude Seafood opened a branch at 14440 Hull Street Road in the same Duckridge shopping center. Other tenants at Duckridge include Chase Bank and Maple Street Biscuit Co.