University Town Center’s salad game is about to level up. Just Salad, the fast-casual chain known for chef-designed salads and reusable bowls, is headed to Manatee County for the first time. The restaurant is renovating a roughly 2,000-square-foot space inside the Market at University Town Center at 5231 University Parkway, unit 113, which will become the first Just Salad in Manatee and add another quick-fresh choice to the UTC shopping district’s busy lunch and dinner lineup.
As reported by the Bradenton Herald, the new shop is going into a unit at the Market at UTC that was under renovation when the paper’s story ran. The Herald notes that the store will fold into the plaza’s mix of national and local eateries and calls out the chain’s emphasis on reusable-bowl programs.
Just Salad began in New York City in 2006 and was co-founded by Nick Kenner and Rob Crespi, according to the U.S. EPA. State business records show that a Florida LLC tied to the UTC address, Just Salad 5231 University Parkway LLC, was registered in late 2025, a sign that the company is formalizing its presence in the area.
Reusable bowls and the research behind them
The UTC location is expected to bring in both the in-store MyBowl and app-based BringBack programs, which let customers choose sturdy MyBowl containers or borrow a green BringBack bowl and return it in a drop-off bin for professional cleaning. Industry coverage of Just Salad’s reuse push has highlighted a third-party life-cycle analysis indicating that BringBack bowls have lower global-warming impacts than disposable fiber bowls after just two uses. The promotion and its environmental claims have been covered by outlets such as Restaurant Business, and the underlying life-cycle assessment is available from the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute.
Menu and where to find one nearby
On the food side, Just Salad’s menu leans into salads, warm market plates, wraps and smoothies. National menus and delivery listings on platforms like Uber Eats feature items such as the Tokyo Supergreens salad, a Peruvian Chicken market plate and an Acai Protein Punch smoothie. The company now operates more than 100 locations across seven states, according to Just Salad.
For Manatee County diners, the closest existing Just Salad is in South Tampa, where a West Neptune Street opening recently expanded the brand’s Florida footprint.
The initial Bradenton Herald report did not include a firm opening date for the UTC restaurant, so the timeline is still up in the air. Once the doors do open, the Market at UTC spot will bring Just Salad’s reusable-bowl options and its lineup of salads, bowls, wraps and smoothies to the University Town Center crowd.
