Sweet Tomatoes is closing all of its locations permanently, including the one in North Fresno. Google image via Pietro Alvarez

Another victim of the coronavirus pandemic, Sweet Tomatoes is closing all of its locations, according to reports.

The permanent closure impacts 97 restaurants, including 44 in California. Among those is the Fresno location at 7114 N. Fresno St. near Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.

John Haywood, CEO of Garden Fresh Restaurants — the San Diego-based parent company of the Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation soup-and-salad eatery brands — told the San Diego Tribune it’s unlikely the chain’s buffet-style model would work post coronavirus.

“The FDA had previously put out recommendations that included discontinuing self-serve stations, like self-serve beverages in fast food, but they specifically talked about salad bars and buffets,” Haywood said. “The regulations are understandable, but unfortunately, it makes it very difficult to reopen. And I’m not sure the health departments are ever going to allow it.

“We could’ve overcome any other obstacle, and we’ve worked for eight weeks to overcome these intermittent financial challenges but it doesn’t work if we are not allowed to continue our model.”

All Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants were closed on March 10 as COVID-19 began its spread and lockdown measures were on the horizon. The closure effects 4,400 employees.

The 42-year-old chain known for its all-you-can eat soup and salad bars has faced tough times before, including a 2016 bankruptcy that led to the closure of dozens of poorly performing locations. The head of a private investment firm that purchased the restaurant out of bankruptcy told the Union-Tribune that things were starting to turn around for the business, but it ran out of money in one week after COVID-19 hit.

Fresno used to have two Sweet Tomatoes locations, but a location on West Shaw Avenue closed in 2010. It is now a Texas Roadhouse.