Souplantation fans in California have something to celebrate: The beloved all-you-can-eat buffet chain is officially returning to the Golden State in 2027. Souplantation Director of Corporate Affairs Marlee Lossing confirmed to NBC 7 that the company plans to reopen its former Fountain Valley res taurant in Orange County, located at 11179 Talbert Avenue, about an hour north of San Diego. The reopening will mark another milestone in the comeback of the San Diego-founded restaurant chain, which closed all its locations during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. “Souplantation will be making its return to Fountain Valley, CA in 2027,” Lossing confirmed in a statement to NBC 7. The company has not announced an exact opening date. For longtime customers who thought they had eaten their last Souplantation meal, the news is a welcome surprise. “I wasn’t sure if it was real or not, but I guess it’s real if you’re here,” said Kevin Yahampath of Fountain Valley. Yahampath, who regularly visited Souplantation with his family before the closures, is already looking forward to returning. “I feel amazing. I think I’m going to be here every weekend,” Yahampath said. What will the new Souplantation look like? Fans can expect a familiar experience when the Fountain Valley location reopens. According to Lossing, the restaurant will preserve the original all-you-can-eat format that made Souplantation popular, including its salad bar, soups, freshly baked breads and desserts. “A big part of bringing Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes back is preserving the experience our guests remember and love. The original setup worked so well, and it’s exactly what our guests know and expect,” Lossing said. For Sherri Connor of Westminster, the return means getting to enjoy some old favorites. “The salad and the ice cream dessert,” Connor said. Yahampath already has his meal planned. “I think I’m gonna get my greens in before I hit the soup and the breads,” he said. Why is Souplantation coming back now? Souplantation was founded in San Diego in 1978 and grew into a popular buffet chain with restaurants across California and other states. But in 2020, the pandemic brought the business to a halt. More than 90 Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants closed as restrictions and health concerns made traditional self-service buffets difficult to operate. For customers who had made the restaurants part of their family traditions, the closures were disappointing. “It was really just a shame. My family and I used to go there all the time on the weekends,” Yahampath said. Lossing said bringing the chain back was always part of the company’s plan. “The plan was always to reopen locations. When we got involved in 2020 to revive Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation, we always knew we would be bringing locations back,” Lossing said. The company assembled a team of former Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes operators with more than 100 years of combined experience to help revive the restaurants. However, finding suitable California locations proved challenging. Lossing said some preferred properties had been demolished for redevelopment projects, while others had been leased to businesses offering similar concepts. The opportunity to return to the former Fountain Valley location eventually became available, allowing the company to move forward with its California comeback. Is Souplantation coming back to San Diego? Although Souplantation was founded in San Diego, there are currently no announced plans to reopen a restaurant in its hometown. The Fountain Valley location will be the third operating Souplantation or Sweet Tomatoes restaurant in the country, joining locations in Arizona and Florida, according to Lossing. For now, the company is focusing on its Orange County reopening, but it has not ruled out further expansion in California. “We are excited about our return to Fountain Valley, CA and do not have more restaurants to announce at this time. We are always exploring different markets for potential future sites. We would like to open more restaurants once we can find the perfect locations,” Lossing said. That leaves open the possibility of a future return to San Diego, although no additional locations or timelines have been confirmed. Souplantation’s old Fletcher Parkway location in La Mesa, Calif. on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (NBC 7 San Diego) A few years prior, there were briefly plans for a Souplantation-concept restaurant revival to reopen in a closed-down Souplantation restaurant in La Mesa. Back in 2022 and 2023, plans were in place for a Souplantation-concept restaurant revival in a La Mesa’s old closed Souplantation location. That restaurant never materialized. In 2024, a restaurant similar to Souplantation, Soup ‘n Fresh, opened in Rancho Cucamonga. Photos on its Yelp page show a line of people outside the restaurant. Not long after, another location opened up in the Inland Empire, this time in Chino Hills. For customers like Connor, the Fountain Valley reopening is reason enough to celebrate. “I’m glad to see it come back,” Connor said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less