Souplantation, the legendary all-you-can-eat soup and salad buffet that closed all locations in 2020, announced it will return in 2027. The restaurant will reopen its first California location at its former Fountain Valley location on Talbert Avenue near
Newhope Street.
A representative for Sweet Tomatoes, Souplantation’s sibling company, confirmed the restaurant’s return to Eater. Eater asked if the name would remain Souplantation or Sweet Tomatoes, but has not yet heard back.
“We are thrilled to be coming back to California, where the love and demand for Souplantation has never faded,” she wrote in the statement. “We can’t wait to welcome back so many familiar faces and create new memories with our guests when we reopen in 2027.”
SF Gate reports the parent company of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoesfiled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016; the restaurants were ultimately acquired by private investment firm Perpetual Capital Partners. In 2020, Souplantation announced it was closing all 97 restaurants, including 44 in California. During the pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pointed to self-serve restaurants as a potential health risk, pushing the chain, which started in 1978, to close. Many of these vacant Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes locations remain empty.
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes’ popularity never faded — and even spawned a dupe in Rancho Cucamonga called Soup n’ Fresh, which debuted in a former Souplantation in 2024. Immediately, the restaurant saw long waits as Souplantation fans lined up for baked potatoes, blueberry muffins, and all-you-can-eat soup. To meet the demand, Soup ‘n Fresh opened a second location in 2025, in Chino Hills.
Souplantation initially teased its return on Instagram, posting a video that showed different clips of California. The comments section was immediately filled with endless requests from those nostalgic for Yankee Clipper clam chowder, beef chili, or tuna tarragon pasta salad to reopen near them. Until Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes return to California, the company continues to operate locations in Tucson, Arizona, and in Fort Myers, Florida.
