Sweet Tomatoes plans return to California under original Souplantation name

The buffet restaurant concept Sweet Tomatoes is preparing to return to California, Nation's Restaurant News and Patch reported. According to Nation's Restaurant News, the locations reopening inside the state will trade under the Souplantation name. Patch reported that the brand is planning its initial return in California, while the Orange County Business Journal stated that a location is planned for Fountain Valley. [1][3][5]

The restaurant concept originated in San Diego, California, where it was founded by Garden Fresh, Nation's Restaurant News reported. As the company expanded outside California, owners established the Sweet Tomatoes name for locations outside the state while keeping the same core buffet format, according to Nation's Restaurant News. [1]

The first Souplantation location opened in San Diego in 1978. Garden Fresh Corp. was incorporated in 1983 and went public in 1995 before returning to private ownership in 2004. In March 2020, the parent company temporarily shut all 97 buffet locations due to official pandemic mandates. On May 7, 2020, the operator made those closures permanent and filed for complete corporate liquidation. ST Three LLC, a business based in Florida, subsequently acquired the brand intellectual property in 2021. [1][6]

The revived Sweet Tomatoes business relaunched its operations by opening a restaurant location in Tucson, Arizona, in 2024, Nation's Restaurant News reported. [1]