Hoping to prove once and for all that the buffet is back, Sweet Tomatoes is readying for its second act.
Four years after the buffet concept’s 97 restaurants were shuttered and liquidated in bankruptcy, a Sweet Tomatoes location is scheduled to reopen in late February or early March in Tucson, Ariz.
The news has been teased out for months, but Sweet Tomatoes COO Mike Malone on Thursday was happy to share details on the return of the concept, which was known as Souplantation in California, where the restaurant chain was born.
But there is a key detail that has yet to be revealed: Who owns this new-and-revived Sweet Tomatoes?
“They are past customers who loved the brand. They are raving fans,” said Malone. “But that’s all I can disclose at this time.”
The new mystery owners acquired the intellectual property rights out of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation filed in 2020—which is ongoing. The former parent company, Garden Fresh Restaurants, is dissolved and none of the previous ownership is affiliated in any way, Malone said.
Sweet Tomatoes’ new operating company is ST Three LLC, and that’s the entity that holds the trademarks.
The new owners also tapped Malone, who worked for Garden Fresh for 30 years before the bankruptcy.
In fact, it was Malone who first opened the 7,000-square-foot Sweet Tomatoes in Tucson in 1996. The 2.0 version is reopening in the same building with the same sign (albeit repainted).
“It was a very good unit and a very good market,” said Malone. “Tucson supported us tremendously, and we’re thrilled to return.”
The restaurant’s interior, however, is being completely refreshed with new colors and a new look, he said.
Make no mistake: This is a brand that is being brought back as it was, for the most part, because fans loved it. So they don’t want to see much change.
Expect to see many of the same recipes, like Joan’s Broccoli Madness, a popular salad that’s available in some Costco stores, and the chicken noodle soup and Caesar salad, said Malone.
The ginormous salad bar will feature the same fresh-cut ingredients, Malone said. And there will be beverages, like the signature Strawberry Lemonade, and soft serve, just like before, with a mostly self-service format.
“We’ll bring all the favorites back,” said Malone. “We want to open with what people are used to.”
Also like before, it will be an all-you-can-eat concept with one price. Malone said that price has not yet been determined, but Sweet Tomatoes was and is a concept known for value, he said.
“We want to provide a great value for past guests and for new guests,” he said.
But there’s no getting around the fact that the restaurant industry, and consumers, have changed significantly since Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes turned off the lights for the last time, and Malone said there may be new adaptations ahead for the brand.
Even before the pandemic, for example, Garden Fresh was looking at offering third-party delivery, but it was never launched, Malone said.
Now, after the restaurant gets its footing, delivery is something Malone plans to consider down the road.
Sweet Tomatoes is also thinking about growth to more markets, but Malone is not considering franchising at this time.
To grow, however, he admits there may be a need to look at a smaller footprint format. “I don’t know how many 7,000-square-foot spaces there are out there anymore,” he said.
When asked about a CEO, Malone said the company’s organizational chart is still taking shape.
Fundamentally, this is a unique opportunity for a reset, said Malone.
“I see this as a fresh start and a chance to correct mistakes that were made, so that we’re there for the long haul,” he added.
Garden Fresh, which first formed in San Diego in 1983, went through multiple owners over the decades and countless reinventions.
The chain grew first as Souplantation, but when it came time to move to markets outside California, the owners at the time felt a different name was needed, though units in and outside the Golden State were the same, except for that brand name.
Garden Fresh first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016 and was ultimately sold to Cerberus Capital Management, known as a distressed debt specialist. It was later sold to family office Perpetual Capital Partners, which had made investments in the restaurants that were beginning to show signs of traction.
But then that COVID shutdown came in March 2020 and the view through the sneeze guard of the future for buffet restaurants looked particularly grim.
But that was then.
Now buffets are showing strength as the pandemic fades into memory and Malone feels certain the Tucson market will embrace the Sweet Tomatoes brand again.
If the concept catches on and returns to California, it’s not clear whether the Souplantation name will be revived too, Malone said. That’s a decision they’ll make when needed.
For now, he’s focused on the “powerful” Sweet Tomatoes name, a brand he devoted many years of his life to already.
“It’s one of those rare second chances in life,” he said.