Salad and Go, the drive-thru salad chain that filed Chapter 11 earlier this year and closed 70 of its remaining restaurants, is coming back. Co-founder and former executive chef Daniel Patino has partnered with original investor Tom Misitano and business partner Mike Myers to buy the intellectual property, recipes and trademarks out of the court process.

The revival plan starts in Gilbert, Arizona, where the concept first began. Myers announced the plan on Facebook on Wednesday. The group intends to operate corporate-owned restaurants first, then make franchising available across the country.

"When I saw the opportunity to rebuild Salad and Go, I couldn't pass it up," Myers wrote in the post. "Tom has been my longtime partner and was an original investor in Salad and Go. And Daniel's passion for what he does is infectious. Bringing the three of us together to rebuild this brand just made sense."

Patino declined to offer details but said more would be revealed soon.

Who owns the brand now?

Myers and Misitano are co-founders of Hospitality First Concepts, an Arizona-based multi-concept group. Its portfolio includes Rusty Buckle Saloon, The D.T.C. Sports Grille, The Hub Grill and Bar, and the beer brands Dutchman's Gold Lager and Dos Lobos.

The new owners hold only the intellectual property, not the real estate. In the ongoing bankruptcy procedure, most of the chain's former locations went to the coffee operators Dutch Bros and 7 Brew. A few sites were also picked up by Swig, the dirty soda pioneer, and by the growing salad concept Just Salad.

That split — coffee and beverage chains absorbing drive-thru sites while the salad brand's name and recipes go to a local operator group — tells the real story of the asset sale. Drive-thru real estate sold fastest; the brand itself needed believers.

What killed the first version?

Salad and Go's apparent demise has prompted speculation about the dangers of too-rapid growth. Tony Christofellis and his wife founded the concept in 2013 and brought Patino in during those early days to develop the menu. Patino's résumé includes The French Laundry in California, Restaurant Daniel in New York and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, plus seven years with Mina Group.

Christofellis sold the concept to private equity firm Volt Investment Holdings in 2021. Patino stayed on, leading culinary.

Volt pushed expansion hard. The firm brought in Charlie Morrison — formerly of Wingstop, now with Jersey Mike's — to lead an aggressive push into Texas. Morrison left after disagreements with the owners about the strategy. Former Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield then took the helm and began closing underperforming locations.

The turnaround did not hold. The company hired a restructuring officer to explore a sale of assets, but no buyer emerged. The Chapter 11 filing and the closure of 70 remaining restaurants followed.

What does this change for the chain?

For now, it changes ownership and control. The brand returns to people who built it, backed by an operator group that already runs restaurants in the same market. The stated model — corporate-owned first, franchising later — inverts the growth-first approach that preceded the bankruptcy.

Christofellis is not part of the revival. He wished the new group well.

"I'm happy for Chef Patino. He's a good person and a good man," Christofellis said. "I know the food will get better."

Christofellis has moved on to the Angie's brand, which is growing with a broader menu. "Angie's is the future," he said. "Salad and Go is like the Blackberry of the past."

The new ownership has named a market, a model and a founding city. Unit counts, opening dates and franchise terms remain undisclosed, and Patino has promised more details soon.