Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Dye.
Hi Emma, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started Crisp because it was the kind of restaurant I wanted to eat at—and at the time, there was nothing quite like it in Portland. I wanted a place centered around fresh, real ingredients, big customizable salads and wraps, and food that could be both healthy and genuinely satisfying. It’s still the way I like to eat today.
We opened our first Crisp location on N. Williams in August 2015, and five years later—right in the middle of 2020—we opened our second location on SE Division. Today, Crisp is a proudly woman-owned Portland business employing more than 20 team members.
One of the things I’m most proud of has little to do with salad. Over the years, Crisp has been the very first job for many local high school students, and I love being able to give young people an opportunity to learn how to work, serve customers, be part of a team and build confidence. We’ve always worked to create an environment where everyone is welcome, and our team reflects people of different genders, backgrounds and nationalities.
Community has also been a big part of Crisp from the beginning. We regularly partner with local nonprofits through fundraisers, donations and community events, and I believe strongly that a local business should contribute to the community that supports it.
More than 11 years after opening our doors, what still makes Crisp different is pretty simple: we make the kind of fresh, customizable food I wanted Portland to have in 2015—and still want to eat myself today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. When I opened Crisp, I had never owned a business before and I didn’t have an MBA. I was incredibly naïve about how much I didn’t know.
Within the first three months of opening our doors, I had gone through my savings and we weren’t bringing in anywhere near the revenue I had forecasted. It was a very, very scary time. I ultimately had to take on debt to keep the business going. Fortunately, we found our footing: within our first two years we were profitable, and by the summer of 2019, Crisp was debt-free.
Later that year, we started looking for our second location and were in negotiations on a space in early 2020 when the pandemic hit. Everything immediately went on hold, and like every restaurant owner, I had no idea what was going to happen. We were fortunate that Crisp was already well set up for takeout and delivery, so while we had to close our dining room, we never had to completely close our doors. In that sense, the pandemic wasn’t ultimately the biggest obstacle Crisp would face.
That came after we opened our third location in 2021. We truly believed it was going to be our strongest location. Instead, it became by far our worst-performing store, and exactly two years after opening it, we made the incredibly difficult decision to close it.
That experience took nearly all of our financial reserves and was emotionally devastating. Closing a business you have poured so much time, money and energy into feels very different from simply looking at numbers on a spreadsheet. But it also taught me more about business, risk, resilience and decision-making than any MBA probably could have.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Yes. I’d include both awards, especially because this section explicitly asks what sets Crisp apart and what you’re proud of. They add third-party credibility without making the answer feel promotional.
I’d add them near the end, before the final paragraph, and keep the Moda Center out since it’s no longer current.
Crisp Salads is a woman-owned, locally owned fast-casual restaurant concept specializing in fresh, highly customizable salads, wraps and warm bowls. I opened our first location on North Williams in Portland in 2015 because there really wasn’t anything like it in the city at the time—and, honestly, there still isn’t.
What sets Crisp apart is the amount of choice we give our customers. People can choose one of our chef-designed salads or design exactly what they want from a huge variety of fresh vegetables, proteins, toppings and house-made dressings. Our goal has always been to make eating well easy, satisfying and something people actually look forward to.
I’m particularly proud that after more than 11 years, Crisp is still independently owned and deeply connected to Portland. We employ more than 20 people, have been the first job for many local high school students, and work hard to create an inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds are welcome.
Community involvement is also a significant part of who we are. We regularly partner with local nonprofits through fundraisers, donations and events, and we believe being a local business means actively supporting the community that supports us.
We’ve also been fortunate to receive some meaningful industry recognition along the way. In 2022, Crisp received the International Fresh Produce Association’s Fast Casual Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award for our use of fresh produce, and I was honored to be named the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association’s 2022 Restaurateur of the Year.
At the end of the day, Crisp is the restaurant I wanted to exist when I started it: fresh, approachable, customizable food made with real ingredients, served by people who genuinely care about the experience.
What matters most to you?
Those are the right pillars. I’d frame it around **people, product, sustainability of the business, and community**.
What matters most to me is building a business that takes care of people, serves food I’m genuinely proud of, and is run responsibly enough to be here for the long term.
That starts with our team. I want Crisp to be a place where employees feel respected, supported and happy to come to work. Many of our team members are young and, for some, Crisp is their first job. I take seriously the responsibility of creating a workplace where they can learn, grow and feel valued.
It also matters deeply to me that we serve food I feel good about putting in front of people. Fresh ingredients, real food, generous portions and consistency are all important to me because our customers are choosing to spend their money with us, and I want that choice to feel worthwhile.
At the same time, I’ve learned that passion alone does not keep a business alive. Running Crisp intelligently and making disciplined financial and operational decisions matters because staying in business allows us to keep employing people, serving customers and contributing to our community.
And giving back is a big part of that. We’ve always believed that if a community supports your business, your business should support that community in return. Whether that’s through nonprofit partnerships, fundraisers, donations or simply being a good local employer, I want Crisp to have a positive impact beyond the food we serve.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.CrispSaladsNW.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crispsalads/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crispportland
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crispsalads/
- Twitter: https://g.page/r/CbNcGyqXXNnmEAE/review
