Food trends rarely last forever. From TV dinners in the 1950s to frozen yogurt in the 2010s, and more recently, build-your-own salads and protein shakes, consumer tastes are changing rapidly.
For restaurant chains, failure to grow with changing preferences can lead to declining sales, store closings, and in some cases even bankruptcy, especially for brands built around a single category.
This challenge is becoming increasingly apparent for Sweet Green.
The company has begun closing locations as it works to adjust its strategy after slowing sales and rising costs.
Sweet Green closed three restaurants in 2025 as their leases neared expiration, and additional closings are expected in 2026.
Founded in 2007, Sweet Green now operates more than 300 locations in the United States and went public in late 2021 amid increased investor interest in fast-casual restaurant brands.
Just a few years ago, the company revealed significant expansion plans to reach 1,000 units by the end of 2030, and promised to open at least 35 new restaurants in 2022 alone.
At the time, Sweet Green operated 166 company-owned restaurants in 13 states and Washington, D.C., as of June 26, 2022, according to a 10-Q filing.
The leadership seemed confident that development was on track.
“Confidence really comes from the fact that leases are being signed and deals are being made,” SweetGreen CEO Jonathan Neiman said during the earnings call. “We have a very healthy, strong pipeline next year with some great sites, great deals and many leases already signed.”
However, by the end of 2025, that optimism began to fade as the company faced slowing sales and rising operating costs.
Sweet Green (SG) has confirmed the permanent closing of its Crystal City restaurant at 2022 Crystal Drive in Arlington, Virginia, after serving customers in the area for a decade, according to local media outlet ARLnow.
Despite the closure, Sweet Green still operates 14 locations in Virginia, including four in Arlington County, according to its store locator.
Pentagon City: 575 12th Rd South (about 1 mile away)
Rosslyn: 1800 N Lynn St (about 3.4 miles away)
Clarendon: 3100 Clarendon Blvd (about 4 to 5 miles away)
Ballston: 4075 Wilson Blvd #C (about 5 to 8 miles away)
Sweet Green sees more restaurant closings in 2026 amid slowing expansion. Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sweet Green’s latest financial results missed expectations, highlighting the challenges it now faces.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue Decreased by 3.5% per year you 155.2 million dollarswith Same-store sales fell 11.5%According to the company’s earnings report.
For the full year 2025, Sweet Green posted a A net loss of $134.1 millionwhich it attributed to lower restaurant-level profitability, increased operating expenses and increased expenses from the opening of 15 new restaurants.
“We are moving urgently through a ‘sweet growth transformation plan’ to strengthen the base of the business,” Neiman said in a statement.
During the fourth quarter earnings call, Sweet Green CFO Jimmy McConnell said the company plans to Close “a few” locations in 2026 As leases expire and review additional underperforming restaurants that may potentially close.
The company is still hoping to open 15 new restaurants by 2026Including expansion in Nashville and Salt Lake City.
Other restaurant closings:
However, most of these openings are now expected to occur later in the year, reflecting a more cautious development pace.
“This ensures that we have a healthy pipeline, so we have the option to accelerate as the comps improve, and we feel good about the unit economics,” Neiman said during the earnings call. “There’s no need to commit too much to make sure we’re disciplined from a cash perspective.”
Sweet Green is currently projecting that it will sell the same store A decline of between 2% and 4% in 2026.
In response to increasing challenges, Sweet Green has developed its “Sweet Growth Transformation Plan“In late 2025.
The strategy aims to strengthen the company’s operating base while improving profitability and customer engagement by focusing on five priorities.
Operational capability: Improving consistency across all restaurants to deliver reliable food quality, smooth operations, and superior guest experiences.
Food Quality + Menu Innovation: Introducing new menu items and culinary concepts that resonate well with customers.
Personal experience: Use digital engagement, targeted offers, and personalized messages to increase visit frequency and average order value.
Significance: Attract new customers by strengthening brand recognition and cultural relevance.
Regular Profitable Investments: Focusing expansion spending on locations with strong projected returns while maintaining tight cost controls.
Contains sweet green stock It’s down almost 15% so far By March 6, 2026, and is It has decreased by almost 89% in the last five years.
Analysts at Barron’s have maintained a sell rating for the chain since February 2019.
“The company’s fundamentals look very weak, making investing in its shares purely speculative,” Barron’s analysts said.
However, some analysts believe that the company can still bounce back if its turnaround strategy is successful.
Sweet Green has a consensus price target of $15.54 based on analyst ratings, according to Benzinga. The three most recent analyst ratings from RBC Capital, Oppenheimer, and UBS point to an average of $7.50 in February 2026, about 32.74% above current levels.
“Sweet Green hasn’t quite executed the way investors expected,” said Motley Fool analyst Neil Patel. “Shares in the health-conscious fast-casual food concept are currently about 89% below their price on the November 2021 initial public offering (IPO) date. In fact, they’re essentially trading at their all-time lows.”
Fortune retail analyst Phil Wahba says Sweet Green is facing a major shift in food trends.
“Every food trend eventually runs its course, or just becomes part of the culinary landscape,” Wahba said. “That’s exactly what happened to make-your-own salad or grain bowls, once hot office lunches now often and perhaps unfairly called ‘slop bowls’.”
TCBY: The frozen yogurt chain has closed several of its stores, and its parent company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as reported by The Street.
Portillos: The Chicago-based restaurant chain is expanding after new restaurants began selling “sick” items from nearby locations, as reported by The Street.
Salad and to go: The drive-thru salad chain has closed several locations and exited several markets while evaluating its growth strategy, as reported by The Street.
Related: After bankruptcy, popular seafood chain closes more restaurants
This story was originally published by The Street on March 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Restaurants section. Add TheStreet as a Favorite Source by clicking here.
