Chopt Creative Salad Co. a New York-based restaurant chain serving specialty salads, has opened in The Forum.

Founded in New York City in 2001 by best friends Tony Shure and Colin McCabe, Chopt has expanded to more than 40 restaurants in New York, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Wilmington marks the fifth North Carolina location for the company.
 
For each new store opening, Chopt celebrates with a day of giving through the Chopt Gives campaign. The company selects a locally based non-profit in each new market and on opening day, rather than charging customers, Chopt gives away a free salad and fountain drink to anyone who is willing to make a donation to the selected organization.
 
For the Wilmington opening, Chopt officials selected Bitty and Beau’s Coffee as the recipient of the first day’s donations.
 
“I’m thrilled to report that we had our largest donation day ever with the Wilmington opening,” said Chopt representative Tina Lemelin. “We were able to donate over $8,500 to Bitty and Beau’s and we were thrilled to help support their mission of providing job opportunities for the disabled.”

Chopt uses seasonal ingredients from local purveyors and combines them with authentic flavors from around the world, offering a healthy twist on fast food.

The menu is focused on health and flavor, while still being convenient, accessible and affordable, say its founders. It includes classic salads, grain and noodle bowls with greens, warm kale and quinoa bowls, destination salads that change every 60 days, and soup and salad combos. Customers also have the option to create their own salads, bowls or sandwiches.
 
This week Chopt launched a new destination menu called “Destination Local,” which celebrates the diverse food grown in Chopt’s key markets. The Destination Local menu features a summer picnic salad with grilled chicken, a sweet corn quinoa bowl and an heirloom Caprese plate.
 
Chopt Creative Salad Co. is located at 1125 Military Cutoff Rd. and is open from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.
 
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