Salata Salad Kitchen Announces Briton Smetzer as Vice President of Information Technology

Smetzer will focus on the modernization of Salata’s IT infrastructure in preparation for the customizable salad and wrap company’s growth

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Salata, the leading built-to-order salad kitchen with 90 locations, announces Briton Smetzer as Vice President of Information Technology. With a background in a variety of industries, including fast casual restaurants, construction, ATM, and technology services, Smetzer brings his expertise to the growing concept to lead the modernization of Salata’s IT infrastructure.

Smetzer, who most recently served as Director of ATM Management & Software Deployment at NCR, an information technology company that manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, and automated teller machines, will be the first to hold the VP of Information Technology role at Salata. He’s the third executive level hire for the brand in the last year, including the VP of Development and VP of Operations roles. His initial focus at the customizable salad kitchen brand will be on rationalization, simplification, and consolidation of the current IT landscape.

“Since I became President of Salata in 2019, building out and enhancing our technology suite has been one of my primary focuses for the company,” says Michelle Bythewood, president of Salata. “As we continue to scale the brand for exponential growth, it is imperative to build an executive leadership team with a development and innovation-focused mindset. Briton checked every box we were looking for to fill the VP of Information Technology role.”

She continues, “His robust experience in the fast casual industry and working with growing brands aligns with our goals as we look towards the future. With Salata’s executive and development teams in place, we can continue to move forward with our expansion plan into new and existing markets to further Salata’s aggressive franchise growth initiative.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining Salata at a time when their key priority is growth and putting the right building blocks in place, from operations and development to technology, for a successful expansion,” says Smetzer.

The VP of Information Technology adds, “We offer a variety of solutions & services across multiple channels that our guests engage with, but we lack the necessary centralization needed to offer a truly seamless omnichannel experience that guests have come to expect. Implementing a winning centralization strategy begins with IT consolidation and rationalization.”

As part of their growth strategy, Salata is actively seeking experienced business operators to open locations along the U.S. sunbelt and beyond. The ideal Salata partner has a local-first mindset with their finger on the pulse of their community and is eager to participate in the development and operations of their restaurant. Candidates must also meet financial and experience requirements, have a thorough market understanding and align with the brand’s aggressive development schedule.

Salata offers guests fully customizable, built-to-order salads and wraps, soups and organic teas and lemonades. All fresh fruits, vegetables and lean proteins are prepared and chopped daily in-house. With five salad bases, more than 50 toppings, and 11 house-made, gluten-free dressings, guests can create meals tailored to their lifestyle. Guests can earn points toward rewards with every purchase by downloading the Salata mobile app and signing up for Salata’s Tastemaker Rewards program.

For more information or to find your local Salata, please visit www.salata.com.

About Salata

Founded in 2005, Houston-based Salata is a fully customizable, built-to-order salads and wraps concept with endless combinations tailored to any lifestyle. Salata has 90 corporate-owned and franchise locations in Texas, Georgia, Southern California, Louisiana, and North Carolina. For more information, visit salata.com or facebook.com/salatasalads. For franchising information, please visit salata.com/grow-with-us/franchising.