Salata

Billing itself as “the next-generation salad bar,” Salata, which means salad in Latin, is hoping for longevity in a category that has seen similar concepts wither and die. Founder Berge Simonian is doing his homework to avoid a similar fate—calling his Chicago-area debut last fall “an experiment” to see how Salata “could do in a northern environment,” as he told Crain’s Chicago Business. It’s typical behavior for Simonian, who spent a year researching the formulas for Salata’s 10 proprietary dressings, all sold bottled in-store.