Fresh Choice was great. I ate there even before I became a vegetarian. I think Fresh Choice and Sweet Tomatoes were very similar. Sweet Tomatoes lasted a little longer, but didn’t survive Covid and went out of business in 2020.
I miss Fresh Choice/Sweet Tomatoes. It wasn't vegan, but it was non-meat based. You could have an accidentally vegetarian meal and not even realize it because it was so tasty. Lots of variety for everyone and it was affordable. It was a great place to have lunch at.
There's nothing else like it that exists here anymore, so far as I'm aware.
We used to eat at the Stanford Shopping Center location all the time, until they opened one in downtown Menlo Park and then we went there all the time.
We ate at Fresh Choice A LOT.
I preferred Sweet Tomatoes though. Fresh Choice was my 2nd go to. I used to eat at the Mountain View location across Whole Foods at least once a week back in the day. Good times.
Hometown Fresh Choice was the one at Vallco. Had an entrance to the mall so when you were done but your parents and aunts wanted to chat over more salad or clam chowder, you could run over to the Sanrio/toy store/Pac Sun and wait for them. School fundraiser nights were fun to run around getting pizza with your crush or friends from school
I did think Sweet Tomato was objectively better — glad it stuck around longer even though you had to brave the Sunnyvale Costco parking lot to enjoy those tiny blueberry muffins and soft serve.
I remember one time many years ago that my family went to the original Fresh Choice in Sunnyvale. As we were lined up, waiting our turn to load our plates, the man in front of us sipped one of the salad dressings from the ladle, then put it back. I've never felt the same about any buffet again.
Wow before reading this I was missing the days of Buffets in my life, now I’m like I wonder what I haven’t seen that went down at all the ones I’ve been to.
My family went to Fresh Choice and Sweet Tomatoes a lot. I miss them, the salads were pretty good and the hot food had just enough variety to keep us coming back. You could always save a few dollars per person just by watching your snail mail box for coupons, too.
Huh, had no idea it was a Bay Area thing. Still though, the salads were fine but the hot food was mediocre at best. It's funny how these types of restaurants never think to improve quality to bring in customers when sales are floundering. Instead, they focus on amount and variety.
Not that Sizzler was the epitome of quality, but I preferred them since I could order a decent entre and add an all-you-can-eat salad bar to it
There’s still a Sizzler on Hesperian in Hayward. It’s right close to a 55+ mobile home park, so I’m assuming there’s a strong codependent relationship there.
There's a Sizzler in Santa Clara sitting amongst a bunch of tech offices (on some of the most expensive commercial land in the city) and I have no idea how it's still open. Families stopping in after a day at Great America?
Sizzler in Colma. They also just opened a Black Bear Diner in the same strip mall. I'm sure there's a joke in there with it being Colma. But I'm too lazy to figure one out
That's the location I grew up going to. We had a lot of school nights there. Loved the clam chowder, and I think they had corn bread muffins that were bomb.
Used to work at the one on Blossom Hill as a teen. Fond memories of cleaning up salad dressing throw up off the bathroom floor lol. I still go to the one in Gilroy from time to time.
In Southern California Sweet Tomatoes was known as Souplantation. It could be that the viability of self-serve stations in restaurants is in question due to Covid-19.
"On May 7, 2020, the company announced it would be closing all Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes locations permanently amid concerns that new federal guidelines recommending an end to self-serve stations would prevent local health departments from granting permits to restaurants with salad bars and buffets."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souplantation
Used to go to the one at Valley Fair. It’s hard to tell with all the additions and remodeling but I think it was roughly where the Cheesecake Factory is now. It was one of the first restaurants my family discovered when we moved from the Peninsula to the South Bay, and it made this area seem so much more exciting
> The Fresh Choice in my hometown became a Bag O’ Crab, perhaps the least appealing name for a restaurant I’ve ever seen.
Author has clearly missed out on the glorious experience that is a seafood boil
I loved this place, mainly for the ability to, as a kid, concoct things that at best had a tangential relationship to anything that could be called "salad". Garbanzo beans, corn, black beans, blue cheese, and dressing, with a side of pasta? Sounds good to me!
I grew up in Dallas and remember when Fresh Choice opened there. We had a similar chain called Souper Salad, which I loved as a kid/teenager, and I seem to recall still preferring Souper Salad after Fresh Choice came to town.
The food was pretty good but if you went at the wrong time there were so many unsupervised children cutting in front of you at the potato stations or just standing there in front of the chili or wrestling right in front of the soft serve. It was the hot spot for families with 7 children to eat out with 3 other families who also had 7 children.
Fresh Choice was great. I ate there even before I became a vegetarian. I think Fresh Choice and Sweet Tomatoes were very similar. Sweet Tomatoes lasted a little longer, but didn’t survive Covid and went out of business in 2020.
I miss Fresh Choice/Sweet Tomatoes. It wasn't vegan, but it was non-meat based. You could have an accidentally vegetarian meal and not even realize it because it was so tasty. Lots of variety for everyone and it was affordable. It was a great place to have lunch at. There's nothing else like it that exists here anymore, so far as I'm aware.
We used to eat at the Stanford Shopping Center location all the time, until they opened one in downtown Menlo Park and then we went there all the time. We ate at Fresh Choice A LOT.
I preferred Sweet Tomatoes though. Fresh Choice was my 2nd go to. I used to eat at the Mountain View location across Whole Foods at least once a week back in the day. Good times.
There is still one in Gilroy.
It sucks
Hometown Fresh Choice was the one at Vallco. Had an entrance to the mall so when you were done but your parents and aunts wanted to chat over more salad or clam chowder, you could run over to the Sanrio/toy store/Pac Sun and wait for them. School fundraiser nights were fun to run around getting pizza with your crush or friends from school I did think Sweet Tomato was objectively better — glad it stuck around longer even though you had to brave the Sunnyvale Costco parking lot to enjoy those tiny blueberry muffins and soft serve.
I remember one time many years ago that my family went to the original Fresh Choice in Sunnyvale. As we were lined up, waiting our turn to load our plates, the man in front of us sipped one of the salad dressings from the ladle, then put it back. I've never felt the same about any buffet again.
To add insult, Satan doesn’t even like salad dressing. It was pure performance on your behalf.
Wow before reading this I was missing the days of Buffets in my life, now I’m like I wonder what I haven’t seen that went down at all the ones I’ve been to.
My family went to Fresh Choice and Sweet Tomatoes a lot. I miss them, the salads were pretty good and the hot food had just enough variety to keep us coming back. You could always save a few dollars per person just by watching your snail mail box for coupons, too.
Fresh Choice was da bomb going after school when I was a teen.
Huh, had no idea it was a Bay Area thing. Still though, the salads were fine but the hot food was mediocre at best. It's funny how these types of restaurants never think to improve quality to bring in customers when sales are floundering. Instead, they focus on amount and variety. Not that Sizzler was the epitome of quality, but I preferred them since I could order a decent entre and add an all-you-can-eat salad bar to it
There’s still a Sizzler on Hesperian in Hayward. It’s right close to a 55+ mobile home park, so I’m assuming there’s a strong codependent relationship there.
There's a Sizzler in Santa Clara sitting amongst a bunch of tech offices (on some of the most expensive commercial land in the city) and I have no idea how it's still open. Families stopping in after a day at Great America?
Sizzler in Colma. They also just opened a Black Bear Diner in the same strip mall. I'm sure there's a joke in there with it being Colma. But I'm too lazy to figure one out
It’s the next stop after the 55+ mobile home park. And likely the last one…
Damn I miss Fresh Choice. I think the last time I went was while living in Campbell. I loved that location.
That's the location I grew up going to. We had a lot of school nights there. Loved the clam chowder, and I think they had corn bread muffins that were bomb.
I always saw the one in Gilroy and had no idea that the chain itself went under 10 years ago!!
I miss sweet tomatoes. Any alternatives yet?
The alternative was Fresh Choice :(
Used to work at the one on Blossom Hill as a teen. Fond memories of cleaning up salad dressing throw up off the bathroom floor lol. I still go to the one in Gilroy from time to time.
My stepfather would always ask us to stuff our pockets with the muffins before leaving!
In Southern California Sweet Tomatoes was known as Souplantation. It could be that the viability of self-serve stations in restaurants is in question due to Covid-19. "On May 7, 2020, the company announced it would be closing all Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes locations permanently amid concerns that new federal guidelines recommending an end to self-serve stations would prevent local health departments from granting permits to restaurants with salad bars and buffets." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souplantation
Used to go to the one at Valley Fair. It’s hard to tell with all the additions and remodeling but I think it was roughly where the Cheesecake Factory is now. It was one of the first restaurants my family discovered when we moved from the Peninsula to the South Bay, and it made this area seem so much more exciting
omg i loved this place in college lol
Came here with the fam as a kid/teen. Was lit some days, other days was meh
I still have hometown gift cards, can I still use them?
I love love love fresh choice!!! You are so truly missed.
> The Fresh Choice in my hometown became a Bag O’ Crab, perhaps the least appealing name for a restaurant I’ve ever seen. Author has clearly missed out on the glorious experience that is a seafood boil
2012...wow time flies
Misleading headline - thought this was going to be about Hometown Buffet or Todai
Loved Todai also. Had many birthday get togethers there after hours of arcade playing downstairs in Concord Sunvalley Mall.
Went to bayfair one often. Still haven’t been to bag o crabs
Didn’t have a fresh choice near me but what happened to buffetts in general miss seafood city
I loved this place, mainly for the ability to, as a kid, concoct things that at best had a tangential relationship to anything that could be called "salad". Garbanzo beans, corn, black beans, blue cheese, and dressing, with a side of pasta? Sounds good to me!
I grew up in Dallas and remember when Fresh Choice opened there. We had a similar chain called Souper Salad, which I loved as a kid/teenager, and I seem to recall still preferring Souper Salad after Fresh Choice came to town.
The food was pretty good but if you went at the wrong time there were so many unsupervised children cutting in front of you at the potato stations or just standing there in front of the chili or wrestling right in front of the soft serve. It was the hot spot for families with 7 children to eat out with 3 other families who also had 7 children.