Original ChopShop, the Scottsdale-born, βbetter-for-youβ fast-casual restaurant chain that has nine Phoenix area locations, is opening its first Tucson store and the first one in a stand-alone building.
The Tucson Original ChopShop, set to open June 5 in a new 2,400-square-foot building at 2749 N. Campbell Ave., is the first time the 10-year-old chain has built a restaurant from the ground up. Its 22 locations in the Phoenix area, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta are all located on end caps of existing shopping plazas, said CEO Jason Morgan.
But when Tucson retail developer Larsen Baker proposed a build-to-suit location on North Campbell Avenue near East Glenn Street, Original ChopShop decided to change its formula.
βTucson will be the first stand-alone, ground-up building weβve ever done,β Morgan said, adding that the Tucson store will create a template going forward for the Plano, Texas-based company.
Original ChopShop, started in 2013 by Scottsdale couple Ryan and Caitlin Jocque, specializes in scratch-made protein bowls, sandwiches and salads made with more healthy leaning ingredients, including grains, fruits and veggies, and proteins (chicken, steak, shrimp or tofu).
The restaurant offers bowls and wraps, as well as avocado toast on its breakfast menu, and a full array of fresh-squeezed juices from the Power Green made with kale and cucumber to the pineapple and cucumber with coconut water Hydrator. Protein shakes, super fruit bowls, parfaits and acai bowls can serve as meals or snacks.
Morgan said roughly 35% of the restaurantβs business is from the sale of protein bowls, with salads and sandwiches each contributing about 15% of sales from a customer base comprised largely of college-educated women between 20 and 40 years old looking for healthier options to fast food.
Original ChopShop is bringing its healthful-leaning bowls, sandwiches and salads to Tucson in June in what will be the chainβs first-ever ground-up new build.
βWe steer clear of describing the brand as healthy, but if you think about in the spectrum of βI want to eat better,β on the lower level of that spectrum I put Chipotle. On the the other end of the spectrum I put Flower Child,β Morgan said. βWe sit somewhere right in the middle, very affordable, very convenient.β
Original ChopShop features a 52-seat dining room and a patio, which can seat 24, but most of the companyβs business is carryout. All orders are digital, whether through the restaurantβs app or from kiosks in the store; you also can order at the counter, but the drive-thru is strictly for pickup, not ordering, Morgan said.
Tucson also will be the first location in the chain to feature a digital menu board, which Morgan said will allow the restaurant to announce menu changes and specials in real time.
Morgan said Original ChopShop could eventually open two more Tucson locations.
Original ChopShop joins Tucsonβs other healthy-leaning fast-casual concepts, including Salad and Go, with six locations and a seventh set to open; and Tucsonβs own Choice Greens, which offers chopped salads and sandwiches at its two locations.
Original ChopShop will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Sundays, when it closes at 8 p.m.
Learn more at originalchopshop.com.
Salad is a great option if you are looking to eat healthier, but it can leave you feeling hungry if you donβt include the right things.
