The menu at this Charlotte restaurant has it all. Why do most people get salad?

Niki’s Food Shop offers a menu spanning breakfast, burgers, sandwiches and seafood, so I was surprised to see that salad was the overwhelming choice among customers ahead of me in line.

Age estimates for the West End restaurant vary, but according to its Yelp page, Niki’s was established in 1994. Could a salad be the reason why it’s lasted for more than three decades?

I walked in on Wednesday morning ready to eat. The restaurant is cash-only, but customers who may not realize it can easily stop at the ATM conveniently located inside the store before making their purchase. I was fortunate to have a couple of $20 bills on me.

By then, I hadn’t had a chance to look at the menu. But the eatery’s Yelp page describes it as having a “rich history in soul food,” which, to me, all but guaranteed I’d find something worth ordering.

I started scanning the menu posted just to the left of the register, but it was hard to focus. Niki’s is roughly the size of a standard two-car garage, making it nearly impossible not to overhear the orders being placed around me.

“I had a Niki’s Salad,” a woman in front of me who had a to-go order told the cashier.

I kept browsing the menu.

“I ordered Niki’s Salad with no bacon,” the next woman in line said.

The mention of bacon caught my attention, but I wasn’t in the mood for salad. Then the next customer ordered brunch — which Niki’s serves until noon daily — and I turned my attention to that section of the menu.

I had just about settled on what I wanted when another woman walked through the door and placed her order.

Another Niki’s Salad.

I had to do some research. The first Yelp review I found, from Michelle S., called the salad “famous.” Another reviewer, Debra W., said the salads at Niki’s are a “must.”

“Niki’s Salad is the best around,” Doug L. wrote in another review. “Can’t beat a fully loaded salad for under $12 anywhere around Charlotte.”

“Fully loaded” isn’t a phrase I typically associate with salad. But it was enough to make me reconsider.

Here’s what you need to know about Niki’s Food Shop.

Salads may be the draw, but Niki’s menu is broad enough to satisfy just about any appetite. And it’s easy on the wallet, too: Everything on the menu costs less than $15.

Breakfast includes eggs with bacon, sausage, country ham, livermush, pork chops and steak, alongside grits or home fries and toast.

At lunch, the options range from burgers, club and Philly sandwiches to fried fish, chicken and hearty plates of pork chops, country fried steak, beef tips and other meats served with vegetables or rice and gravy. Lunch dishes can also be paired with sides like fried okra, candied yams, collard greens and black eyed peas.

After hearing the same order over and over, though, I decided to see what had everyone so excited.

I ordered the $12 Niki’s Salad, packed with grilled chicken, bacon, tomato, boiled egg and cheese, with ranch dressing on the side.

Absolutely. Turns out, “fully loaded” was an accurate description.

When I order a salad at most restaurants, I don’t expect much protein. Maybe a handful of chicken or a few pieces of steak. The salads can still be delicious, but that lack of heft may explain why I’m usually hungry again not long after finishing one.

That wasn’t the case with Niki’s Salad.

At first glance, it looked almost more like a plate of chicken with lettuce and tomatoes on the side. There was plenty of bacon scattered throughout, too. I submerged as much of the salad as I could in creamy ranch dressing before digging in.

I couldn’t find much to criticize.

The lettuce was crisp, the tomatoes were fresh, the chicken was flavorful and the bacon added just the right amount of salt and crunch. Each bite seemed to improve on the last.

And for the first time in my 31 years, I was full after eating nothing but a salad.

I always find room for dessert, though.

Niki’s offers a few flavors of cake and cheesecake. I went with the cheesecake, which was good enough to satisfy the sweet tooth that inevitably follows lunch.

Besides, after eating a healthy meal, didn’t I deserve a treat?

I’ll be thinking about that salad for a while. It was genuinely delicious, and at $12, the price is competitive with similar dishes at comparable restaurants around Charlotte. If you’re not perpetually hungry like me, there’s also enough food to stretch it into two meals.

So if you live nearby and haven’t been to Niki’s — or find yourself in West End — stop in.

And get the salad.

Location: 2200 Beatties Ford Rd, Charlotte, NC 28216

Cuisine: Soul food

Instagram: @nikisfoodshop