Every day, blogger Alex Lyons orders the same salad at the same New York City bodega and eats it in the same place: at his desk. She worked so that she could publish the article before “prime time,” the noon lunch period when her audience of office workers munched on their salads and mindlessly scrolled on their computers. Eating it inside.Lyons is the main character sad desk salad, a 2012 novel by Jessica Gross, gave a name to more than just a type of diet, to the common experience of trying to maximize both health and productivity at the same time. Because, and here’s the sad part, there’s never enough time for either.
The sad desk salad has become synonymous with people like Lions.Overworked young white-collar professionals consider how salads can help them self-optimization. Chains like Sweetgreen and Chopt are thriving in major coastal cities, offering “guacamole greens” and “spicy Sonoma Caesars” in to-go bowls that you can grab between meetings. Prices can approach $20, further enhancing its luxury reputation.
However, fast salads have become mainstream. Sweetgreen and similar salad chains are moving out of city centers and into the suburbs, where they are reaching a whole new population of hungry workers. Other salad shops are selling salads faster than ever before, sometimes at fast-food prices. Along the way, the sad table salad became even sadder.
While anything can make for a sad desk lunch, there’s something unique about a salad. Don’t get me wrong. It can also be delicious. I’ve spent embarrassing amounts of money on sad table salads, including the one I chose while writing this article. But unlike burritos and sushi, which feel like at least a minor indulgence, the main reason to eat a salad is because it’s nutritious. It’s fuel, not fun. Even if you don’t have time for a lunch break, there’s always time for some arugula.
In the early days of the pandemic, the sad table salad seemed doomed. Workers sitting at home desks instead of in the office could remove vegetables from the refrigerator crisper drawer in exchange for paying $16. Even if they wanted to, most locations were in the heart of downtown rather than in residential areas.
But the sad desk salad isn’t just back, it’s thriving. Take Sweetgreen, perhaps the most well-known salad vendor. The company bet that Americans would want its salads no matter where they work, and so far it’s paid off.The company is Expansion to suburbs at least after 2020 And it has continued to spread ever since. In 2023, Stores opened Milwaukee, Tampa, Rhode Island. Last week, when Sweetgreen reported a 26% year-over-year increase in revenue, executives attributed the growth to expansion into the following areas: small city. largely Most of its locations are in the suburbs, and most of its future stores will also be in the suburbs.
Sweetgreen wasn’t the only one to make that bet. Chopt previously announced it would open 80% of new stores In the suburbs.Minnesota-based brand Crisp & Green is taking notice. the edge of a midwestern city. Salads are well established as a lunch option. wendy’s and Dairy Queen In recent years, salad bowls have also appeared. Perhaps the most novelty is the Salad and Go. It’s a chain that sells salads entirely through the drive-thru. less than $7. He opened a new store almost every week last year, and now has more than 100 locations in Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas. There are expansion plans to Southern California and the Southeast. Its CEO Charlie Morrison said: I placed it As a cheap and convenient alternative to unhealthy options: McDonald’s rival, not Sweetgreen.
Indeed, a sad tabletop salad can be made with surprising speed. Morrison says it’s okay to drive away with the salad in it. less than 4 minutesOther chains included just salad and Chopt Drive-thru lanes are open for added convenience. sweet greenThe company, which is also dabbling in drive-thrus, has salad-assembling robots installed at several locations. 500 salads per hour.
In general, it’s a good thing that salads are becoming more available. America could stand to eat a lot more of it. There is no doubt that salads will be consumed outside of work. A girl can dream, perhaps on a park bench with friends or on a blanket on the beach. But certainly, many of them are packed, ordered and picked up at frightening speed, the crunch of lettuce punctuated by the chime of a notification, or the time spent working in the glow of a computer screen. You will only be spending on
As I write this article, I sit down to a lunch of kale and Brussels sprouts, holding out a quiet hope that maybe all this will offset all the negative effects that sitting at a desk for nearly eight hours is having on my body. I held you. Eating while distracted more likely to overeat; Sitting for long periods of time increases the risk of: diabetes and heart disease. In contrast, people who take regular lunch breaks Improving mental health, less burnout syndromeand more energy. Cheap and fast salads cannot compensate for working hard, so it is impossible and even undesirable to take a few minutes’ break to enjoy a salad.
Earlier this month, Sweetgreen introduced a new menu item that you can add to your bowl: Steak. His CEO of the company said that during the test,Favorites for dinner” It may be the saddest thing ever that sad table salads can quickly creep into other mealtimes.
