Sweetgreen is encroaching hard onto Tender Greens' turf right in Santa Monica, when it plans to open its second salad spot right on the corner of 4th and Santa Monica. The East Coast chain already has plans to build its first LA location on West Third, which will happen some time in early 2015 barring any construction issues. Why such a big deal that another salad chain is opening in a city full of such eateries? Founded by Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru, the company tries its best to be local, eco-friendly, and budget-friendly. Everything's made from scratch and local vendors will even get a shout out on a chalkboard.
Founder and native Angeleno Jonathan Neman always wanted to open a location in L.A. ever since the company started back in 2007 in Georgetown, D.C. This spot will have 2,500 square feet, 35 seats, and outdoor patio, and a walk-up window for those grabbing and going. It should complement Tender Greens perfectly, which tends to draw tremendous lines during lunch hour in Santa Monica.
Check out the East Coast menus here, which should get slight adjustment here in L.A. since most of the produce will be driven by local farms. Will the salad wars heat up, and will sweetgreen find a solid following in this city? Virtually every restaurant in town has salad offerings, plus a plethora of salad-focused places, so it's hard not to conceive of sweetgreen picking up a wide fan base.
· East Coast Salad Chain sweetgreen to W. 3rd St. in 2015 [~ELA~]
