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Salads, Soups, Sandwiches and Much More!

Salad or Bust: Bringing Healthy Eats to Two Springs Locations

Have you ever found yourself at an outdoor festival and wished there were healthier food options?

This is something that Bob and Stephanie Curtis found lacking at a local music festival in 2017. They were inspired to start a food truck of their own and decided that a salad bar food truck would not only be original, but also cost-effective and easily customizable.

The Ideal Set of Wheels

Stephanie, a principal at a local school, bought a small school bus.

“A bus is set up perfectly for a salad bar,” Bob says. “You enter at one end and head down the main isle. The salad bar supplies and ingredients are located on both sides of the aisle for customers to select their toppings. Then, you exit out the back and pay for your plate based on weight.”

Time to Pivot

In 2018, Salad or Bust was open for business, and it was hit. In a full-circle moment, the popular food truck was present at the music festival that inspired their idea. Everything was going well until the 2020 pandemic, when salad bars were suddenly considered a public health risk and customers were no longer allowed to be inside food trucks.

“We had to pivot. We started making pre-designed salads and sandwiches,” Bob says. “Because people were no longer allowed on the bus, we were also able to offer hot items like nachos.”

A New Home

Early in the pandemic, Bristol Brewing invited Salad or Bust to park at Ivywild so they could legally sell beer. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. Then, in March 2021, Salad or Bust was invited to move inside Ivywild and it became their first brick-and-mortar location. Around the same time, the food truck was rear-ended, incurring considerable damage. The Curtises decided to sell it.

A Second Home

In October 2021, the Curtises learned that the Pita Pit in downtown Colorado Springs was closing. It was set up perfectly for their business model and had all the right equipment. They opened a second location and Chef Erin Bray was hired to lend her expertise on designing a new menu that also included grain bowls and a soup program.

Collaboration

As an homage to the food truck community that they once belonged to, the Curtises decided to offer collaboration dinners once a month.

“We started doing this because we wanted to provide opportunities for our food truck community to branch out and leave their comfort zone. We invite a food truck to create a dish, a beverage distributor to provide cocktail or beer pairings, and Chef Bray designs the menu around a theme and creates the remaining three courses.”

These monthly dinners allow the food trucks and beverage distributors to demonstrate their creativity and signature flavors; they also highlight the immense talent of Chef Bray. She executes a very elevated dining experience.

Little-Known Facts

  • Salad or Bust offers several vegan options.
  • You can purchase frozen soups to take home; just ask for a list at the counter.
  • Seasonal items are added to the menu throughout the year.
  • If you can’t decide what to order, try a combo.
  • Salad or Bust participates in the First Friday Art Walk downtown. Stop in to see a new artist’s work each month. And enjoy the acoustic duo, Amore, while you gaze at the art.

Website: https://saladorbust.com/
Instagram: @SaladOrBust
Facebook: @SaladOrBustDeli & @SaladOrBustDowntown