Two years ago, Sweetgreen was feeling pretty good about unit growth.
In early 2024, same-store sales were growing. The chain upped its guidance for the year, based on momentum that appeared oblivious to challenging macroeconomic trends at the time. New protein plates were driving traffic at dinner.
The robotic Infinite Kitchen restaurants, with automated makelines, were showing significantly higher margins than traditional locations. Sweetgreen was also inching toward profitability, and the company’s stock price was climbing.
At the time, Sweetgreen had a goal of reaching 1,000 units by the end of the decade. Feeling confident, the chain pressed the accelerator, pledging to go from 25 restaurants opened in 2024 to 40 in 2025, half of them Infinite Kitchen units.
By the end of 2025, the picture couldn’t have been more different.
Same-store sales fell sequentially through the year, reaching a decline of 11.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025. For the full year, same-store sales fell nearly 8%.
Sweetgreen ended up opening a net of 35 restaurants last year, rather than the expected 40, for a total of 281. This year, that pace of new openings will slow to a projected 15.
And the gains Sweetgreen’s stock price had made in 2024 were lost.
What went wrong for Sweetgreen was likely multifaceted.
It was undeniably a tough year for many restaurant chains in 2025 as inflation-weary consumers cut back on spending. That trend was also felt by Sweetgreen-peers Chipotle, Cava and others.
But, fundamentally, Sweetgreen spent the year battling a perception for over-priced lunch salads and being tarred with labels like “slopbowl” and “Millennial cringe.”
Reporting the dismal fourth-quarter results last month, CEO Jonathan Neman appeared to come to the realization the chain would have to do something about its menu pricing.
He pledged to simplify the pricing architecture, adding more lower-priced entry points to create a “value ladder” with options that will make the brand more accessible to all.
Sweetgreen is testing a line of new wrap sandwiches, for example, which are all under $15, with some starting at $10.95. And the new-and-improved loyalty program will feature more options at a $10 price point.
The chain is also working on improving operations. Earlier in 2025, Neman said up to 60% of the chain’s restaurants were not performing up to par. By the fourth quarter, however, about 60% had exceeded standards.
But the growth path to 1,000 restaurants that seemed so promising two years ago is now seriously in question.
Last year, Sweetgreen closed three restaurants that were nearing the end of their lease. Chief Financial Officer Jamie McConnell last months said another “handful” of units could also be closed this year at lease end.
But McConnell also said the company is looking at the whole portfolio.
“The ones that are not cash-flow positive, we’re taking a hard look at,” she said.
The 15 restaurants projected to open this year will be weighted more heavily at the back half.
Neman was asked about the development path ahead, and how the chain is managing to strike the right balance between slowing down and preparing for potential unit acceleration later.
“It’s making sure we have a healthy pipeline so we have the optionality to speed up as comps improve and we feel good about the unit economics,” said Neman.
But that means not committing to too much, he added, and being disciplined from a cash perspective.
“We do have a really, really solid pipeline we feel very confident about for this year and do have a really solid pipeline built for 2027,” Neman said. “But really kind of taking a wait-and-see approach in terms of signing too many deals as we really perfect the unit economics in the business.”
Once comps turn positive, he said, they expect to return development to the previous algorithm, Neman added.
This year, however, Sweetgreen is projecting same-store sales will decline between 4% to 2%.
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