Every now and then, Greenlane customers might find the 6-foot, 6-inch person working the drive-thru window looks a lot like Tampa Bay Buccaneer tight end Rob Gronkowski.
That’s because it is Gronkowski, known as “Gronk.” He’s a “healthy investor” in the salad chain, who often serves as a brand ambassador, popping in to work the window.
“We like to surprise the customers, especially after we open a new location. He’ll just show up and work the drive thru for a couple hours,” said Chris Kern, Greenlane’s president.
Diners rolling through a drive-thru restaurant generally are likely to be looking for burgers, chicken, or even coffee. But Tampa-based Greenlane is among a growing number of fast-casual concepts making freshly prepared salads a drive-thru option.
The three-unit chain has two more under construction in the Tampa Bay area, and another five to seven are planned in 2026, reaching the Orlando market. All are company owned and there are no plans to franchise.
At Greenlane, there’s no dine-in service. That model allows the chain to invest more labor in the kitchen, where car-friendly salads and wraps are made to order.
Salads are 48 ounces, which is a hefty portion. | Photo courtesy of Greenlane.
Entrée salads can be ordered as a wrap for drivers to eat one handed, for example. Side salads are served in a large drink cup that fits into a car cup holder, inviting guests to add dressing and shake to toss.
Drive-thru salads are becoming a thing.
The more-than 140-unit Salad and Go, for example, is expanding in the Midwest as a drive-thru concept served by commissary kitchens.
Just Salad last year opened its first drive-thru unit with plans for more as it expands with a recently announced $200 million investment.
Sweetgreen tested a drive-thru in Schaumburg, Illinois, and found that unit had a 20% increase in same-store sales. As a result, the Los Angeles-based chain is planning to open more with the drive-thru format, dubbed “Sweetlane” units.
Greenlane, meanwhile, is plotting to conquer Florida, before taking the concept beyond the sunshine state.
“We have a lot of runway in Florida,” said Co-Founder and CEO Erica Spector Wishnow.
The concept is owned by venture capitalist Chris Burch, whose investment portfolio includes Voss Water, Tory Burch, Staud and the hotel brand Nihi Sumba. Greenlane is the firm’s first step into restaurants.
Wishnow, a former Dunkin’ and Taco Bell franchisee, tapped menu consultants and brand builders The Culinary Edge to design a menu that falls somewhere between Salad and Go and Sweetgreen, price-wise.
The way Greenlane prices its menu has evolved since the first unit opened in 2023.
Initially, salad and wrap pricing was based on the protein selected, similar to the way Chipotle prices its bowls.
Recently, however, the brand shifted to prices for salads and wraps ranging from $6.99 to $8.99, but the addition of protein is extra—$3 for chicken and tofu, for example, and $5 for steak.
And, unlike Salad and Go, which relies on a commissary kitchen, the cooking and ingredient prep happens in each restaurant kitchen at Greenlane, even dressings (which are made with olive oil only, no seed oils).
“We have found that, by keeping it in each location, we’re able to have the freshest product possible, as well as being able to manage inventory levels and waste accordingly,” said Kern. “That’s not to say sometime down the road when we’ve got some mass in the market that we may look to centralize some of the production, but, right now, we’re so focused on doing everything individualized at each store, which we’ve found to be pretty successful.”
Greenlane sees an additional opportunity with catering.
The chain works with ezCater, and offers a selection of larger format salad trays that can serve five to seven, as well as boxes of half-wraps, and cookies and pretzel sticks by the dozen.
For certain events, Greenlane also sends the mascot Gigi—a human in a fluffy pink bunny suit, because salads are rabbit food—who has become somewhat of a TikTok star, helping to build brand awareness.
Side salads are designed for the car cup holder. | Photo courtesy of Greenlane.
As the chain grows, a challenge now is managing tariff inflation on branded packaging. Kern said Greenlane has found savings by ordering direct, rather than going through a distributor.
“We’re being nimble and changing where we source, while still trying to be as economical and environmentally friendly as we can,” said Wishnow. “You can’t please everybody, but we’re doing the best we can.”