‘Lettuce’ tell you about Edens Plaza’s incoming restaurant — which will take the place of Panda Express

The future of Edens Plaza continues to sprout with the shopping center’s leadership recently announcing another inbound business.

Just Salad, a 20-year-old fast-casual restaurant founded in New York City, will open its first suburban-Chicago location in the Wilmette shopping center, 3232 Lake Ave., by this fall, the WS Development team said in a press release.

A WS spokesperson confirmed that Just Salad will open in Suite 210, replacing Panda Express.

According to Just Salad’s press kit, the restaurant has more than 90 stores across seven states, including six in Illinois (all in Chicago).

The healthful-food restaurant features more than a dozen salad options — from chicken caesar and winter harvest to Thai chicken crunch and balsamic chicken avocado — as well as wraps, grain bowls, soups and smoothies.

Just Salad also prides itself on sustainable production and distribution, which includes growing ingredients responsibly, making dressings in house and serving its food in reusable bowls. Its material says Just Salad is “home to the world’s largest restaurant reusable program, as well as the first U.S. restaurant chain to carbon label its menu and offer a Climatarian menu category.”

The new business is at least the third from Edens Plaza owners WS Development since it acquired the shopping center in late 2021. Since, the developer has been working through a number of renovations, from landscape to hardscape, at Edens Plaza.

In January, Uncharted was announced as a store on its way to the plaza. About three months earlier, WS announced Chicago nail salon Flamant was expanding with a location in Edens Plaza.

WS Development also owns Plaza del Lago, which is also enduring renovations, and many locals are eagerly anticipating new tenants for the historic shopping center.

For more information on Edens Plaza, you can visit the property’s website.

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