Eco-Friendly Salad Chain Hits Westlake

Dallas-based Snappy Salads is opening its first Austin location in mid-October. The healthy fast-casual restaurant will be found in The Village at Westlake Shopping center, taking over the former La Madeline space (which closed in January this year).

Update, October 25: The Westlake location of Snappy Salads is now open. The restaurant donated all proceeds from yesterday’s sales to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Austin.

Snappy Salads’ menu features greens with high protein offerings, like the Tenderfoot salad made with grass-fed beef tenderloin, or the most popular offering, a grilled avocado salad with chipotle-lime vinaigrette. Both D Magazine and Dallas Observer dubbed the latter as the city’s best salad.

CEO Chris Dahlander, who spoke at the “Occupy Your Meal” panel at SXSW last year, places a big emphasis on eco-friendly practices. Snappy’s communal tables are made from reclaimed wood, lighting is energy-efficient, takeout containers and utensils are biodegradable, and even the staff’s shirts are made from hemp or organic cotton.

The West Lake Hills location will be open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and until 8 p.m. on Sunday. Breakfast could be a possibility later, as one of the more recent Dallas locations recently added it to the menu. The restaurant also plans to offer catering services at some point.

Snappy opened in 2006, and already has 15 locations around Texas.

• Snappy Salads [Facebook]