The restaurant chain that started in a 10-by-10-foot space in Birmingham's Continental Market is betting a new fast-casual format can help take the brand beyond its Midwest footprint.

Olga's Kitchen is pursuing a national franchise expansion anchored by Olga's Fresh, a build-your-own bowl and sandwich concept that opened its first location in Troy in July, Crain's Detroit Business reported Thursday, Aug. 20. The chain's owner, TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, says the franchising push could eventually reach across the country.

The move marks a dramatic turnaround for a brand that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2015, closing its Detroit location in the process. TEAM Schostak, based in Livonia, purchased Olga's Kitchen out of bankruptcy in November 2015. The company says the chain now has more than 25 locations.

A new format born from customer research

The Olga's Fresh pilot at 770 E. Big Beaver in Troy occupies a former Mod Pizza space with 60 seats. Customers order assembly-line style, choosing from customizable salads, sandwiches and bowls in a format similar to Cava or Chipotle. Existing Olga's Kitchen locations will not convert to the new format; the two concepts will operate separately.

The menu leans into the brand's Mediterranean and Greek roots, adding chickpea orzo salad, quinoa and edamame blend, roasted garlic hummus and seasoned tomato cucumber salad alongside classics like Olga bread, gyro meat and Snackers.

Brand vice president Ryan Jones told The Detroit News on July 8 that the company surveyed about 1,000 customers to shape the concept.

"We want it to be value, fresh and convenient," Jones said at the Troy location preview that month, adding that the brand's core menu items would never change.

If the Troy location performs as expected, the company may add two more Olga's Fresh restaurants in metro Detroit over the next year.

Birmingham roots run deep

Olga Loizon founded the original restaurant in 1970 after spotting a closing wooden shoe store in the Continental Market and securing a bank loan, the first granted to a woman at her local Birmingham bank, according to Olga's Kitchen.

By 1992, the chain had grown to 56 stores in 11 states. By 1999, it had fallen to 28 stores in four states.

Loizon died in January 2019 at age 92.