Salad and Go announced it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will cease operations at all existing locations. The company attributed its collapse to a combination of pre-existing strategic growth challenges, declining consumer demand, and elevated operational costs. The situation was significantly exacerbated by a cyclospora outbreak that eroded consumer confidence in fresh lettuce across the industry, despite Salad and Go not being directly implicated in the incident.
The cyclospora outbreak has rippled through the restaurant industry more broadly. The water-borne parasite has sickened at least 10,000 people according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with two fatalities reported. Taco Bell, a Yum Brands chain, experienced a notable traffic decline after the Food and Drug Administration linked iceberg lettuce at some of its locations to the outbreak, though the chain removed the affected supply and reported sales recovery. Other restaurant operators, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, have also faced sales pressures despite not being connected to the outbreak, as consumers developed heightened skepticism about fresh lettuce products.
Salad and Go was founded in 2013 with ambitions to compete directly with Sweetgreen. The company operated a centralized model using commissary kitchens to process produce and proteins before distributing prepared ingredients to individual locations for final assembly. Private equity firm Volt Investment acquired ownership stakes and eventually bought out the company’s founders Tony and Roushan Christofellis in 2021. Under CEO Charlie Morrison, the company pursued aggressive expansion that more than doubled its store count, though Morrison departed in late 2024 following reported disagreements with the board.
Mike Tattersfield, former CEO of Krispy Kreme, assumed leadership in 2025 and initiated significant restructuring, closing numerous stores in Texas and Oklahoma. This consolidation reduced Salad and Go’s footprint to approximately 70 locations across Arizona and Nevada. According to bankruptcy filings, the company holds assets valued between $500 million and $1 billion, with liabilities in a comparable range.
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