TUCSON, AZ — Tucson Salad And Go customers are saying goodbye to the drive-thru salad chain as the company closes all of its locations Wednesday following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
The Phoenix-founded restaurant announced Tuesday that it would serve its final customers Wednesday, bringing an end to a run that made affordable salads, wraps and bowls a familiar option for customers across Arizona and beyond.
The closure affects six Salad And Go locations in the Tucson area, including:
"This is a painful day for everyone who built, worked for and loved Salad and Go," CEO Mike Tattersfield said in a statement. "Our mission was brought to life every day by an extraordinary team and embraced by guests who made us part of their routines."
The company filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. The announcement came as a surprise to some employees, with several saying on social media they did not know their shifts would be their last.
Salad And Go was founded in Gilbert in 2013 by Tony and Roushan Christofellis, who built the company around a drive-thru-only model focused on making healthier meals more affordable. The chain expanded rapidly across Arizona and into other states before the founders sold the business in 2021.
In its closure announcement, Salad And Go cited a combination of challenges behind the shutdown, including changing consumer demand, past growth challenges and rising operating costs.
"While Salad and Go earned the support and loyalty of a deeply passionate community, the business was ultimately unable to overcome sustained pressure on consumer demand, past strategic growth challenges and rising costs," the company said.
Officials also pointed to a July Cyclospora outbreak affecting the broader food industry, saying Salad And Go was not implicated but that the incident added further pressure by affecting consumer confidence.
There may still be a future for the brand. Court filings show an Oregon-based holding company connected to the founders of Dutch Bros Coffee has agreed to purchase Salad And Go's assets, including its Arizona and Nevada locations.
It remains unclear whether Tucson-area restaurants will reopen under new ownership or whether the locations will become something else.
The restaurant's original founders shared their reaction to the closure, calling the news "bittersweet" after building Salad And Go around the idea that healthier food should be affordable and accessible.
"Thirteen years ago, we started Salad and Go with a simple belief that great-tasting, good-for-you food should be affordable for everyone," Tony and Roushan Christoffelis wrote.
The founders said that mission continues through their newer fast-casual concept, Angie's.
For Tucson customers, Wednesday marks the final day of service for Salad And Go locations across the area.
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