Sweet Tomatoes will open a restaurant in Fountain Valley, California, by 2027 — the chain's first California location since its parent company liquidated six years ago.

The parent of Souplantation, the buffet brand's sister concept, announced the plan. The company closed every one of its locations during Chapter 7 liquidation in 2020. That process ended operations outright rather than reorganizing them, which makes this week's announcement the first confirmed return to the California market since the collapse.

What does the comeback actually involve?

One restaurant, one market, one deadline. The Fountain Valley unit carries a target opening date of 2027, according to the company. That gives the operator roughly two years to build out a location in a state where it previously ran a multi-unit footprint before the liquidation.

The announcement confirms three concrete points:

• Brand: Sweet Tomatoes, the name used outside Southern California, where the chain operated as Souplantation.
• Market: Fountain Valley, in Orange County, California.
• Timeline: opening by 2027.

Why the 2020 liquidation mattered

Chapter 7 is the terminal form of bankruptcy. When the parent filed in 2020, it did not use the courts to shed leases and restructure debt — it wound the business down and closed all locations. For a buffet operator, that outcome closed the book on a full-format, all-you-can-eat model that had run across multiple states.

A single reopening in 2027 does not restore that footprint. It does put the brand name back into a California trade area for the first time since the liquidation, and it signals that the parent company sees a path to operating again in the state where the collapse began.

What does this change for buffet dining in California?

In the near term, very little: one unit in one Orange County city. The change is directional rather than structural. A brand that exited entirely through Chapter 7 is re-entering its home state, and the 2027 date gives competitors and landlords a fixed marker to watch. Whether the Fountain Valley location leads to further openings will depend on how the first unit performs once doors open.

The company has not announced additional sites beyond Fountain Valley. The stated horizon — by 2027 — is the only public commitment on the record.