Salad fast-food chain going out of business, says people don’t want to eat lettuce right now

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) — A popular salad chain is closing its doors permanently after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, partially blaming customers’ hesitation to eat lettuce during the national Cyclospora outbreak.

Salad and Go served its last customers on Wednesday, the company said in a statement.

“This is a painful day for everyone who built, worked for and loved Salad and Go,” Mike Tattersfield, Salad and Go’s CEO, said. “Our mission was brought to life every day by an extraordinary team and embraced by guests who made us part of their routines. We are proud of what we built together and grateful to every team member, guest and partner who believed in it.”

Salad and Go opened in Gilbert in 2013 and operates 70 drive-thru locations in Arizona and Nevada. The chain offers salads, wraps and lemonade. The company was sold to new ownership about five years ago.

“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.

The company said the Cyclospora outbreak in July, in which Salad and Go was not implicated, “weakened confidence across the industry and compounded these challenges.”

Salad and Go has recently faced other financial hardships. In January, the company closed all locations in Texas and Oklahoma, according to CBS News, and in September 2025, Salad and Go announced it was closing more than 40 stores across the country.

Founders say closure is ‘heartbreaking’

The original founders of Salad and Go posted a statement on their Instagram page saying the closure is “heartbreaking.”

“Thirteen years ago, we started Salad and Go with a simple belief that great-tasting, good-for-you food should be affordable for everyone. We dreamed that anywhere there was a McDonald’s, there would also be a better and healthier alternative that people could afford. Although we exited in 2021, watching the company announce the closing of its remaining locations is heartbreaking. We’re grateful for every team member, customer, supplier and community that believed in our crazy mission.”

One last salad run

Customers were shocked as the news broke while they waited for their dinner Tuesday evening.

“Oh, shoot. This is devastating,” one woman said.

“Makes me sad because I come here a lot, you know? Made sense because they had the whole diarrhea scare, lettuce. Hope someone else can fill the market because I really like the fresh options,” another man said.

Guests were eagerly lined up as doors opened on Wednesday morning. Cars wrapped around the drive-thru at one location.

Some customers said they will now have to find a new healthy food spot.

“Right now, we got to figure out what we’re going to do for dinner and lunch because we eat here a lot for healthy alternatives. It was good to eat a salad instead of burger and fries,” one man said.

“I’m heartbroken. I’m here almost every day. This is an opportunity to have a good, satisfying, non-expensive meal on a daily basis,” another woman added.

Locations to become Dutch Bros Coffee

New court filings show that the Oregon-based holding company tied to the founders of Dutch Bros Coffee agreed to purchase Salad and Go’s assets, including all Arizona and Nevada locations.

Under the agreement, Dutch Bros will take over Salad and Go’s leases and equipment at its drive-thru locations, converting them to sell coffee, beverages and food. The documents note the locations do not require major structural alterations because they already operate in drive-thru-only formats.