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How Tender Greens Turned Its Suppliers Into Investors

The growing fast-casual chain Tender Greens used ingenuity, deal-making and vision to build a new kind of supply chain.

By Elizabeth G. Dunn

Alvaro Dominguez

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In 2003, before "fast casual" became restaurant industry buzzwords, Erik Oberholtzer, Matt Lyman and David Dressler had an idea: combine high-end ingredients with fast-food efficiency. They bet that this would differentiate their company, Tender Greens, and customers would be willing to pay a little extra for quality food.

Related: Why Quality Over Quantity Matters When You're Scaling a Business

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