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Cheap Eats: Giardino Gourmet Salad Branches Out

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Aug 26, 2008 7:09 pm US/Eastern

Cheap Eats: Giardino Gourmet Salad Branches Out

E-Mail Us your suggestions for South Florida's best Cheap Eats.

A young South Florida couple epitomizes the term "entrepreneur." Even better, the two can be described as "healthy" and "successful." So if you're hungry for a good meal that won't break the bank, CBS4's Lisa Petrillo has the answer with a local restaurant that is expanding fast and furious.

With more than 32 salad combinations, 64 toppings and dressings to match, Giardino Gourmet Salad Restaurant on South Beach is anything but boring. It's fresh fast food – a place where you can get a healthy meal in no time at a palatable price.  The most popular size, the "Picolo" (meaning "small") runs only $6.75.

The restaurant is the brain child of a former Pre-Kindergarten teacher named Ody and her firefighter husband Kenny Lugo. Ody used to bake and sell cakes, but eventually turned her sights to something a bit healthier.   "I used to do cakes for weddings and baptisms and birthday parties besides teaching," Ody said.

"For me, it was kind of an off-the-wall idea, because we had never been in the restaurant business," Kenny explained.  "I mean, I was always in the medical field and she was always a teacher.  We knew a little bit about baking, but not making salads."  So the couple stuck with what they knew, what they saw and what they wanted.

"There was nothing in Miami, period, that was a place you could go and get a quick healthy salad without actually sitting down and ordering from a menu and it being a lengthy process," said Kenny.   They changed that.

The salads are made while you wait. You choose the lettuce, pick four toppings and a protein. Top the meal off with any of the many gourmet homemade croutons, and then the salad is hand-tossed for better mixing. There's something for everyone.

The first Giardino's opened in the Gables four years ago. They've now franchised seven, including one in Doral and another on the Beach.

Giardino's Gourmet Salads proves hard work, a good idea and a great product make for one tasty business endeavor.

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