Souplantation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Genre | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California, USA |
| Website | www.souplantation.com |
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes are the two names given the same buffet style chain of United States restaurants. The first Souplantation opened in San Diego in 1978, and the company was incorporated as Garden Fresh Corp., in 1983. Souplantation locations were mostly in Southern California and then expanded to Florida and other areas under the name Sweet Tomatoes.
The restaurants include an extensive salad bar, several soups, pastas, breads, pizza and muffins. There are also various fountain drinks, a fruit and dessert counter and ice cream machine. All restaurants operate on an all you can eat basis.
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[edit] History
The first Souplantation restaurant opened on Mission Gorge Road in San Diego in 1978.[1] This restaurant and a second one were purchased in 1983 by Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp., founded by Michael Mack to operate the chain.
The company has expanded across the west and southwest and has locations in several Southeast states including 19 restaurants in Florida. They also have stores in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah. [2]
As of 2008[update] the company had 110 restaurants in 15 states and claims to have served "265 million guests since 1978." [1] The company also employs a "Kitchen Cabinet" of mothers to advise it on product development and customer service.[3] The chain has received several awards. [4]
[edit] Format
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants specialize in fresh salads and soups, offering a grandiose salad bar, homestyle soups, hot pastas, as well as breads, muffins and pizza baked on premises. They are open for both lunch and dinner.
The salad bar includes a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, croutons and other salad condiments, as well as a few prepared featured salads, that change monthly. Other sections include up to 8 soup selections, a small bakery offering muffins and pizza foccacia, a pasta section with a few different pasta and sauces and a dessert section offering fruit, puddings, and soft-serve ice cream.
Fountain beverages are self-serve and purchase of a fountain soft drink permits unlimited refills. As typical with buffet-style restaurants, customers are discouraged from taking home leftovers. Reduced prices are provided for children (those under two years old are admitted free) and seniors.
Although most stores are only open during the afternoon and evening, some Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes locations are also open Sunday mornings for breakfast.[5] The company's home city of San Diego is often a test market for trying new ideas and innovations, and is home to Souplantation's corporate offices.
The company strongly promotes the freshness of its ingredients and the fact that everything on the menu (including soups, bakery items and pasta) is made from scratch everyday at the store location. Salads are left out on the buffet for 20 minutes, and then thrown out and a new salad is made. The chain positions itself as a healthier alternative to fast food and markets intensively to families with children.
Featured menu items are rotated monthly often along a theme, while the standard offering remain unchanged. Themes, named according to the type of food being served, include Asian, Greek, Italian and Customer Favorites.
[edit] Problems
Although the restaurant calls for strict sanitation regulations and handwashing procedures, Souplantation restaurants have been the source of two foodborne illness outbreaks within five months of each other. An outbreak of E. coli in March 2007 was linked to the Lake Forest, California Souplantation[6], which resulted in a voluntary shutdown. Also, an outbreak of Shigella in July/August 2007 was linked to the Pasadena, California Souplantation[7], which also resulted in a voluntary shut down for a thorough resanitation.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Company website (2008-11-10). "Soup Plantation". Our Company. http://www.souplantation.com/ourcompany/. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ Soup Plantation map of locations (2008-11-10). "map/ Map". Our Company. http://www.souplantation.com/locations/fm//company map/. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ http://www.souplantation.com/kitchencabinet/default.asp
- ^ http://www.souplantation.com/pressroom/awards/
- ^ Souplantation.com press release: "Guess Who's Coming To Breakfast!"
- ^ Bernhard, Blythe (2007-04-10). "New case identified in E coli outbreak". The Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1647427.php. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ Cheng, Erik (2007-08-10). "Pasadena Public Health Department investigates Shigella outbreak". Pasadena Health department. http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/publichealth/news/shigellaoutbreak.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
