Souplantation / Sweet Tomatoes
Back, barely. All 97 restaurants closed for good in May 2020. A new owner led by a former Garden Fresh executive reopened one Sweet Tomatoes, in Tucson, on April 1, 2024, and planned a second in Fort Myers, Florida, for 2026.
Last verified Nov 9, 2026
The all-you-can-eat salad-and-soup buffet called Souplantation in Southern California and Sweet Tomatoes everywhere else. It began in San Diego in 1978.
Filed under: Fast Food · the ’70s & earlier
📅 Timeline
- 1978The first Souplantation opened on Mission Gorge Road in San Diego.
- 1990The first Sweet Tomatoes opened, in Palm Harbor, Florida.
- 2017John Haywood became CEO of the 97-restaurant company that emerged from an earlier bankruptcy.
- 2020In May the company said none of its restaurants, closed since March for COVID-19, would reopen.
- 2024ST Three reopened Sweet Tomatoes in Tucson on April 1.
❓ People also ask
Is Souplantation coming back?
One Sweet Tomatoes reopened in Tucson in 2024, and a second was planned for Fort Myers, Florida, in 2026. No Souplantation-branded restaurant has reopened in California.
Why did Souplantation close?
COVID-19. The buffets closed in March 2020, and the company said FDA guidance against self-serve food made reopening very difficult. It announced the permanent closure in May 2020.
🧾 Sources
- Times of San Diego, Souplantation chain closing permanently (2020)
- Tampa Bay Times, Souplantation's buffets, including Sweet Tomatoes, are closing permanently (2020)
- Restaurant Business, Sweet Tomatoes readies its second act (2024)
- FSR Magazine, After COVID wiped it out, Sweet Tomatoes is reigniting growth (2025)