Strictly salads: Fourleaf's assembly-line concept draws a packed lunch crowd.

• Author: Fletcher, Sarah B.
• Position: Attitude at Altitude

His wife of 20 years thinks it's too early, but Lee Moffett arrives at the couple's salad bar in Centennial by 7:30 each morning to grill and prepare the fresh steak, chicken, shrimp and tofu offered by Fourleaf Chopped Salads. In business at the intersection of Arapahoe Road and Clinton Street since April 2004, Fourleaf offers 12 pre-designed salad favorites at set prices, or a customer can create his or her own salad, choosing from more than 50 ingredients.

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That customer may find that choosing what to eat is the longest part of the buying process, since Fourleaf's chopped salads are quickly prepared in an assembly line of nine employees. The final stop? All of the ingredients are chopped on a large cutting board with a rocking knife, tossed in a bowl with the dressing of choice, and topped with fresh pepper and croutons.

Lee and Monika Moffett have both worked in the food industry for many years, yet it wasn't until July 2003 when they decided they were ready to start their own restaurant. "We were just waiting for the right opportunity," Lee Moffett says. "It had to be a business that we could do together that wasn't late-night that gave us time with our kids."

At first the Moffetts looked into buying a franchise, but they decided they didn't want to invest in yet another sandwich shop or pizza place. They did realize however, if they were going to focus on lunch, an assembly-line operation seemed most convenient because, "we had to get people in and out, and we had to do it fast," Moffett says.

The impetus for Fourleaf came from Monika's brother in New York who called and told them about a deli near his home with a small salad station where you could pick your own ingredients for your salad. There was always a line outside the door of the deli, the brother said, but everyone was coming for the salads, not sandwiches. Lee...