The owner of the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant chain confirmed the company is permanently closing all of its locations as a result of coronavirus shutdowns.
As news of the potential closures was widely shared on social media throughout the day Friday, the company was publicly silent.
But by Saturday morning, Garden Fresh Restaurants, based in San Diego, had posted a good-bye on its website.
The company owns seven locations in Arizona, two in Tucson and five in metro Phoenix that will remain closed.
- 4928 S Power Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85212
- 21001 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85050
- 1410 E Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ 85282
- 7565 W Bell Rd, Peoria, AZ 85382
- 10046 N 26th Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85021
- 4420 N Stone Ave, Tucson
- 6202 E Broadway Blvd, Tucson
"The FDA had previously put out recommendations that included discontinuing self-serve stations, like self-serve beverages in fast food, but they specifically talked about salad bars and buffets," Garden Fresh CEO John Haywood said in a statement. "The regulations are understandable, but unfortunately, it makes it very difficult to reopen. And I'm not sure the health departments are ever going to allow it.
"We could've overcome any other obstacle, and we've worked for eight weeks to overcome these intermittent financial challenges but it doesn't work if we are not allowed to continue our model."
