In 1978, the first Souplantation opened in San Diego and people quickly fell in love with the all-you-can-eat soup and salad buffet restaurant. Founded by Dennis Jay, who opened multiple locations throughout the county and maintained a strong sense of community at each location, Souplantation became the go-to location for big family gatherings, group dinners and fundraisers. 15 years opening the first location, Jay sold the restaurants to Garden Fresh Restaurant Corporation in 1983.
Garden Fresh continued to expand the Souplantation chain, at on point operation 130 locations nationwide. But as consumer habits changed, so too did the popularity of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes (the restaurant's name outside of California). After being purchased by a private investment firm in 2017, the company filed for bankruptcy and closed 30 locations.
The coronavirus pandemic was the final blow for the company's already troubled restaurants. On March 16, 2020 the company announced that all locations would be "temporarily closed due to the National Covid-19 health risk and emergency".
But it appears that they will not be reopening their doors. The CEO of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes stated that the company will file for federal bankruptcy protection and may close its 97 locations permanently. The company employed 5,000 people, who are now without jobs.
CEO John Haywood stated in an interview that he sees no “viable way to reopen” the chain’s restaurants, given new state and federal guidelines for serving food as a result of the pandemic. The company has spent two months looking at “every potential modification” of its serving concept in an attempt to reopen, but Haywood said, “It just doesn’t work with the type of high-quality, fresh product we serve." Although he doesn't completely rule out a possible solution for the restaurants, Haywood said “We don’t see a viable way to reopen.”