Joey Cioffi is more than just the founder and CEO of the rapidly growing fast-casual brand Salad House—he is a leader rooted in family values, hard work, and hospitality. Growing up in his family’s deli in Springfield, New Jersey, Joey learned early on that success is built through dedication and passion. Inspired by his father’s legacy, who emigrated from Italy with just $20 in his pocket, Joey set out to create a dining experience that combines speed, freshness, and healthy options. Since opening the first Salad House location in Millburn in 2011, Joey has remained committed to bringing people together over food that everyone can enjoy.
In this article:
Name: Joey Cioffi
Company: Salad House
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Table of Contents
We’re excited to have you with us today! To kick things off, could you share a bit about yourself and what your company is all about?
Joey Cioffi: Salad House has been generations in the making. Growing up in my family’s deli, I gained experience in every aspect of the business, from washing dishes to handling large catering orders.
Having the same passion for hospitality and food as my father, I ultimately created the Salad House concept to provide a fresh fast-casual experience that was both healthy and family-friendly. We like to say that we nix the “veto vote.” When your family is wondering what’s for dinner, we’ve got something for everyone. We don’t want to limit our guests.
I launched the first Salad House in Millburn, NJ in 2011, followed by Morristown in 2015, fulfilling my own American Dream just as my father did generations ago when he immigrated from Italy with just $20 in his pocket.
Salad House is growing quickly and expanding throughout the East Coast. In fact, we just opened our 17th location in Brooklyn, NY, which also happens to be the first outside of New Jersey.
Can you share a time when your business faced a significant challenge? How did you navigate through it?
Joey Cioffi: Our first Salad House location, located in Millburn, presented an unpredictable challenge. About two years into operation, the town began to do major renovations and construction on the street where our restaurant is located.
What was initially slated to take three months took fourteen. The work blocked consumers from seeing our signage, clogged traffic, and contributed to a 40% decline in business for us. At this time, we were just starting to open our second location, so the pressure was on.
I’m usually a very even-keeled person. I rarely get upset. The challenges we faced in Millburn called for action, though, and I rallied. I spoke at numerous town council meetings and did whatever possible to inspire change that could get our business back on track. The key thing I wanted to relay to those decision makers in charge of the roadwork project was that it wasn’t just my business that was suffering – it was our vendors and all other surrounding businesses. We had food providers, kitchenware vendors, and so many others who relied on the healthy operation of our business. There was a domino effect.
Ultimately, once the road work was finished, the Millburn Salad House rebounded successfully. I applaud our team there for weathering that storm and coming out the other side. If it wasn’t for their tenacity, we may have not had a happy ending to that story.
How has a failure or apparent failure set you up for later success?
Joey Cioffi: I’ve learned from previous failures that it’s important to surround yourself with people who genuinely have your back. Every business is a people business, no matter the industry, but especially in hospitality.
Some of my failures occurred when I was either alone or not surrounded by the right team. Learning the value of having a great team—one that’s inspiring and always striving to improve—transformed both me and Salad House as a company.
I have to give a special shoutout to core team members who have been with me since the very start of Salad House.
How do you build a resilient team? What qualities do you look for in your team members?
Joey Cioffi: Find the door kickers who get the job done even when something seems insurmountable. Further, make sure they are inherently self-motivated. Provide them guidance and support, of course, but select those who are self-starters from the jump.
I’ve also found that people willing to take calculated risks make fantastic team members. Above all else, working with genuinely good people is key to success. You can work with the most talented people and hardly tolerate collaborating with them, and you’re no better off.
Evaluate someone based on their personality fit for you and your business first, and then evaluate their skill set. If you don’t think you’d enjoy an hour’s lunch with someone, what makes you think you’d enjoy a ten-year franchise partnership with them?
One prospective partner I recently met with kept using the word “we” in our discussion, and that resonated with me. He was focused on the team first and foremost, and how he could be a “servant leader.” You can bet I’m looking forward to working with him.
How do you maintain your personal resilience during tough times?
Joey Cioffi: I am a big family person and always look to my wife, kids, and my parents during both good times and tough times. I also remind myself of the sacrifices my parents made when they immigrated from Italy in search of a better life.
They spent 11 days on a boat going to a place where they didn’t know the language back in 1957. They made sacrifices, and that reminds me to keep going and keep achieving.
Can you imagine being 18 on a boat for 11 days coming to a new country without even knowing the language, chasing the American Dream!?
We also have a lot of people depending on us. For many, they have invested almost every dollar they have, betting on our concept as a franchise partner.
Work for yourself, but remember that you’re also working for other people’s livelihoods. This includes your core corporate team members who believed in the vision from the very beginning.
What strategies do you use to manage stress and maintain focus during a crisis?
Joey Cioffi: Cooking and being with my kids helps me de-stress. I’m also a big jokester and try to keep things light. I’m known to be the one joking around and making people laugh. Humor is like medicine to me. I also stay active by swimming laps in the pool and coaching kids’ football.
How do you communicate with your team during a crisis?
Joey Cioffi: Connecting with people individually is super important to me. That’s how I prefer people to communicate with me—directly, one-on-one—and I’ve found it to be helpful as a business leader. I make a point to drive out to our locations to have in-person discussions with partners and team members.
Sometimes the discussions are about something really important, and sometimes they are just meant to be casual catch-ups. Salad House Chairman Jerry Eicke isn’t a big hugger, but I am. We balance each other’s management styles really well. I enjoy giving people hugs if they’re okay with it and displaying my appreciation for them. It has to be authentic though!
What advice would you give to other CEOs on building resilience in their organizations?
Joey Cioffi: Pick the right people and try to stay positive, even through the hard times. Also, it’s important to build a sense of pride in the brand. I like to say that we all have “green blood” at Salad House, a phrase that symbolizes our deep loyalty, pride, and unity as a team.
This kind of mentality permeates throughout our corporate culture and signifies that we’re all on the same team, striving for our collective goals. We have a collective grit and spirit—centered around the brand and its success—that gives us resilience when we most need it.
How do you prepare your business for potential future crises?
Joey Cioffi: I’m leading with positivity and a “glass half full” mentality. Right now, there are a lot of economic headwinds. Consumers are unsure about the economy, and prices are rising for everything.
Even so, we’re holding our own. Some of our Salad House locations are feeling the impact of economic uncertainty while others are doing really well. I know it will all turn out fine. While a positive outlook is healthy, you must also do the necessary nitty-gritty work.
Don’t cut corners and don’t rest on the last thing you accomplished, and remember that the competition is always coming for you. Our team is great about digging in and getting into the details.
We challenge ourselves to see what menu items may not be performing optimally and why. We make necessary changes to stay ahead of things. We’re on our front foot when it comes to potential negative impacts on our business.
It takes work to stay ahead, but it pays off in droves in the long run. Work to get a little bit better consistently, and don’t rest – even when things are going well.
I assure you that you’ll look back and notice that those incremental improvements have added up to something really great. And when that crisis arrives, you’re in the best place you can be.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about leadership in times of crisis?
Joey Cioffi: Humor, lightness, human connection, team first. I lead in this manner all the time, but it definitely makes the times of crisis a bit more manageable for my team, partners, and me. Worth noting, that the same works with coaching kids’ football too!
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to WellnessVoice and the host of this interview would like to thank Joey Cioffi for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Joey Cioffi or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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