Chop't eatery coming to Woodbury, first on Long Island

Chop't Creative Salad Co., a casual eatery that stresses local and organic ingredients, is opening its first Long Island outpost.

The company, which has 32 locations in New York, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina, says it plans to open a restaurant by the end of the year at the Woodbury Common shopping center on Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury.

Meanwhile, Hain Celestial Group Inc., a Lake Success-based organic and specialty food company, said it will buy a minority stake in Chop't. Hain partnered on the investment with Catterton, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity firm that specializes in food companies. The companies did not disclose the terms, other than saying Catterton led the deal.

Hain owns dozens of organic and natural brands, including Celestial Seasonings, Arrowhead Mills and Farmhouse Fare. The company, founded in 1993, employs roughly 6,300 people.