As part of the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, a new owner took over a former Souplantation store in San Diego and hopes to revive the once-nationwide concept.
In 1978, Dennis Jay opened the first Souplantation restaurant in San Diego on Mission Gorge Road over four decades ago. In 1983, Jay sold the two buffet-style restaurants he had grown to two locations with the help of friends to Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. The eatery has grown to 130 locations across the country, all of which are called Sweet Tomatoes. Despite shutting down dozens of outposts, 97 locations remain in 2016.
In May 2020, news broke by SanDiegoVille, which reported that all Souplantation restaurants across the country have laid off more than 5,000 employees due to uncertainty in the sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A variety of news outlets picked up the story, and Souplantation executives confirmed the report.
Using previously released and copycat recipes, Dmitry Braverman plans to revive the concept of Souplantation on Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa, SanDiegoVille reported. As part of the property, Braverman is also preparing to open Golden Life Adult Day Health Care. He believes that it would be beneficial to his clients and the community to revive the Souplantation brand in La Mesa.
When it opens later this year, the space will serve as an adult day care facility, with a restaurant holding special hours for Golden Life clients until 2 pm, then open to the general public at 3 pm.
“We operate an Adult Day Care center and are trying to preserve Souplantation’s special atmosphere,” Braverman said.
“We would like to keep the name or make minor alteration to it. We hope to open doors by the 4th of July.”
No information is available on whether Souplantation parent company Garden Fresh Restaurants consents to the name being used for the La Mesa project. San Diego County had eleven Souplantation locations when the company abruptly shut down in 2020.
According to reports, San Diego’s La Mesa will soon see a Souplantation revival restaurant opening at 9158 Fletcher Parkway.