Closed By The Pandemic, An All-You-Can-Eat Restaurant Is Making A Comeback

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No restaurant concept was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic more than all-you-can-eat buffets. Self-served food and shared serving utensils simply were not safe, and many buffets shut down permanently. Sweet Tomatoes (known as Souplantation in California) was among the restaurants that went out of business due to the pandemic. It reemerged with a single location in Tucson, Arizona, in 2024. In 2026, another will open.

Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation was liquidated in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in 2020. However, operating company ST Three LLC purchased the intellectual property rights to the business. This means that the acquisition group may use the business' designs, trademarks, and trade secrets. The newest location is set to open in Fort Myers, Florida.

The Tucson location has had a good two years: It currently boasts a 4.5-star rating on Google Maps, with nearly 4,000 reviews. And if you were afraid that the chain's iconic salad bar would not come back, rest assured that customers are raving about how great the new one is.

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Sweet Tomatoes was best known for its impressive, double-sided salad bar loaded with a seemingly endless variety of options. Customer reviews confirm that it's still the main attraction. If you were wondering if the newly opened locations differ from the original, one customer review explains, "This place is awesome — exactly like what we remember, and I mean EXACTLY! Same salad buffet, same beverage stations, same soup, pasta, and dessert bar, and best of all, the same original recipes!" The company confirms that it is using the same recipes as before in its website's FAQ.

Aside from the salad bar, the restaurant still offers soup, pre-made salads, and baked goods. Expect to find cheesy garlic focaccia, blueberry muffins, and cornbread from the bakery, and classic soups such as cream of mushroom and chicken noodle. There are also limited-time, monthly specials; February, for example, features menu items like Italian Orzo Salad, Red Velvet Lava Cake, and Broccoli Cheese Soup.

The red tomato logo remains the same, and the restaurant chain has stuck with its original branding. The salad and dessert bars are abundant, the customers are happy, and Sweet Tomatoes plans to continue expanding, placing it alongside other struggling restaurant chains like Golden Coral and Perkins that have made a comeback.