The smell of the fresh blueberry muffins and the rattle of the plastic trays are coming back: Souplantation will reopen in Orange County in 2027 following years of closure.
The storied all-you-can-eat buffet with decades of fans devoted to its salads, soups, fluffy-doughed pizzas and muffins closed all locations in 2020. The chain’s former parent company, Garden Fresh Restaurants, cited the COVID-19 pandemic in its decision to close all 97 of its buffets, including 44 in the Golden State.
According to Marlee Lossing, Sweet Tomatoes’ director of corporate affairs, the company has been working on a revival since the chain’s acquisition in 2020.
“We want to get it right, so we move a little slower but very deliberately,” Lossing wrote via email. “We found a great opportunity to return to Fountain Valley and are so excited to welcome back our wonderful guests who have been waiting six long years for our return!”
The first Souplantation debuted in San Diego in 1978, then spread throughout Southern California and, as it reached other states, adopted the name Sweet Tomatoes but maintained the same recipes and staff. The chain filed for bankruptcy in 2016, and then again in 2020 following pandemic-spurred restrictions against buffet-style dining.
The loss spread like shock waves, resulting in thousands of comments across social media and online forums, as well as multiple essays from fans young and old. In its vacuum, a handful of buffets inspired by the brand sprouted up, including Soup ‘n Fresh in Rancho Cucamonga.
“Much as I have missed going to the theater and visiting museums, I had been looking forward most to the reopening of sit-down restaurants, newly reminded of my gratitude for the simplest of pleasures,’” former L.A. Times editorial page editor Sewell Chan wrote at the time. “The first place I hoped to eat at was Souplantation.”
Following acquisition by a new operating company — ST Three LLC, headed by Mike Malone, Garden Fresh Restaurants’ former vice president of operations — Sweet Tomatoes returned in 2024 with an outpost in Arizona, then Florida. Now, the company is headed back to its home state and is landing in a former Souplantation location in Fountain Valley.
On Monday, Sweet Tomatoes teased the return with a cryptic video depicting coastlines, poppies, palm trees and California signage followed by the words “coming soon.”
The post drew nearly 7,000 comments from fans, including “there is a god,” “I’ve been in mourning since 2020” and “I’ll give my firstborn for Souplantation y’all don’t play with me.”
Lossing confirmed the location with The Times and added that this could be the first of multiple new or returning Souplantation locations. The company noted that while only Fountain Valley has been announced, the company is considering California and all other markets for expansion. The Orange County restaurant will sprawl across roughly 7,800 square feet at 11179 Talbert Ave.
“A lot of restaurants could learn a thing or two from how Souplantation is run,” L.A. Times Food writer Charles Perry said in a 1988 review, adding, “The other big thing they do at Souplantation, apart from making things look good, is making people feel good about being there.”
While Lossing could not provide further detail as to when Souplantation will return in 2027, she said the restaurant will resume its rotation of monthly specials, and that all of its recipes — including favorites such as Wonton Happiness Salad, Joan’s Broccoli Madness, Big Chunk Chicken Noodle Soup, the macaroni and cheese, and its popular blueberry muffins — will all taste exactly as die-hard fans remember them.
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