- Sweet Tomatoes closed all 97 locations in 2020 after filing for bankruptcy during the pandemic
- Now one has reopened in Arizona, leaving stranded diners lining up for hours.
- New COO Mike Malone said the company has been bought by “enthusiastic fans”
Diners have been lining up around the block to celebrate the unexpected return of a beloved Southern restaurant chain that was left for dead by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sweet Tomatoes closed its 97 salad restaurants in May 2020 as the pandemic and lockdown rules took their toll on the industry.
The impact continues to be felt and more than a dozen of America’s best-known names, including Applebees, Red Lobster and Denny’s, will continue to close locations in 2024.
But fans have been driving from across the country after Sweet Tomatoes reopened a location at its former location in Tucson, Arizona, with dozens of diners sharing their excitement with millions of viewers on social media.
“We’re so back,” said one customer who drove seven hours from Los Angeles. “They keep wanting to tell us that we’re not the first to do this.”
Food fans lined up around the block when Sweet Tomatoes reopened its doors in Tucson, Arizona, for the first time since it went bankrupt during the pandemic.
The restaurant chain, beloved by foodies for its all-you-can-eat buffets, operated at the site for 24 years before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
It became famous for its salads, but proved popular with families because its wide variety of buffet food offered something for even the pickiest of children.
The brand was purchased by Sahara Capital Partners months later for $775,000, but current COO Mike Malone said it was former customers who were “raving fans” that prompted its return.
‘We will recover all the favorites. “We want to open with what people are used to,” he told Restaurant Business Magazine.
“We are delighted to return,” he added.
He said plans were afoot to expand to other locations along with a new delivery service.
And the return can’t come soon enough according to jealous fans of Arizona diners.
“OMG please come back to South Florida too,” one wrote. ‘My favorite place!’
‘No one knows what place I’m talking about when I say this restaurant!’ added another. “One of my favorites, I’m so angry they closed my location.”
Fans on social media called on the chain to reopen branches near them.
“I could CRY,” added a third. ‘I hope they open again near me! He was my grandfather’s favorite.’
“I’m literally thinking about taking a flight.” wrote another.
Red Lobster abruptly closed 93 of its roughly 700 restaurants on May 13, days before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Court documents suggest there are another 135 restaurants that bosses say will continue to lose money if leases remain as they are.
Rubio’s Coastal Grill closed 48 of its Mexican-style restaurants in California in late May, blaming “the rising cost of doing business in the state.”
Applebees closed 46 outlets last year and has announced plans to open at least 25 more this year.
And Denny’s hopes to follow the closure of 57 restaurants with up to 20 more this year.
But Sweet Tomato’s announcement of its comeback on Instagram sparked another round of excitement among devotees.
“Okay, seriously, what’s stopping them from reopening in San Diego, California?” -Maya Chaoui asked. ‘Is it money? It’s money, right? I’ll give you money hahaha.’
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t open restaurants in Florida, where I lived here before, and visit them a lot,” wrote Edna Reyes of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Some even contemplated
Or in Georgia, where I had no option to go. I just ask that you make one here too. Thank you.’
“One of my favorite pastimes is reading all the desperate comments asking for a place in your area,” regieredreader wrote.
‘My other favorite pastime is being one of those comments: Oregon loves you and misses you!’
There may be more good news for food fans with reports that Steak and Ale plans to open a Minnesota location this summer for the first time since the chain went bankrupt in 2008.
