Giardino Gourmet Salads to Show its Support for Breast Cancer Victims in Culinary Style by Unveili

MIAMI - Oct. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- Giardino Gourmet Salads, South Florida’s only locally-owned and operated salad franchise, is putting a culinary twist to honoring breast cancer victims by giving its popular homemade Ambrosia Salad a pinkish hue and serving more than 500 pounds of the creamy dish at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® on Saturday, Oct. 19.

All eight restaurants in the Giardino chain will also feature the pink Ambrosia Salad, made with low-fat strawberry yogurt, fruit and several special ingredients, Oct. 19 - 31, with 10 percent of the sales benefitting the Susan G. Komen Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate.

“We founded Giardino to promote good health and wellbeing. It’s part of our mission to look for and invest in organizations like Susan G. Komen® that align with this goal,” said Giardino owner Ody Lugo, a former schoolteacher who founded the franchise with her husband Kenny in 2004.

Giardino franchisee and breast cancer survivor Paula Lopez will join company executives, employees and other restaurant owners in doling out complimentary servings of the pink Ambrosia Salad at the Race for the Cure® in downtown Miami.

“It’s very emotional to go to the Race and see all the pink shirts (people with cancer and survivors) and realize how many people of all ages have or had breast cancer,” said Lopez, 50, a breast cancer survivor for 13 years. “When I was growing up, breast cancer was something only older women got.“

Lopez recently bought the Giardino franchise in the Alfred E. Dupont Building, 169 East Flagler St. in downtown Miami. Her investment in the company was due in part to her medical history.

“Since my double mastectomy, I’ve been focused on living and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Giardino’s menu represents a healthy way of eating,” Lopez said.

Giardino Locations
Blue Lagoon, 5787 NW 7^th Street, Miami (33126)
Brickell, 1221 Brickell Ave. Ste R – 102, Miami (33131)
Coral Gables, 2346 Ponce de Leon, Coral Gables (33134)
Doral, 11402 NW 41^st Street, Doral, (33178)
Downtown Miami, 169 E. Flagler Street, Miami (33131)
Kendall, 11624 N. Kendall Drive, Miami (33186)
Miramar, 12144 Miramar Parkway, Miramar (33025)
South Miami, 6653 S. Dixie Highway, Miami (33143)

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About Giardino Gourmet Salads


The Miami-based Giardino Gourmet Salads was founded in 2004 and has since expanded to eight licensed locations in South Florida. Founders and co-owners Kenny and Ody Lugo launched Giardino to offer healthy salads with fresh and natural ingredients. The made-to-order, hand–tossed salads, along with wraps, boccata sandwiches, soups and gourmet sides, are available for lunch and dinner. Catering is also available. For more information on Giardino Gourmet Salads, visit www.giardinosalads.com.

About Susan G. Komen®


Since its inception in 1995, the Susan G. Komen Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate has raised more than $13 million. Seventy five percent (75%) of the net dollars raised through local events, including the annual Race for the Cure®, stay in the Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties to fund breast cancer screening, education and treatment initiatives. In 2012, the Affiliate granted $1.129 million to 36 organizations in the three South Florida counties to further the Komen mission. The remaining 25% of net dollars raised, $2.5 million since its inception, goes to the Komen national breast cancer research fund. In the last 10 years, the national organization has awarded more than $4.6 million back to research facilities in the community.