Sara Crocker
This week was one for the salad spinners. On Tuesday evening, the homegrown healthy drive-thru chain Salad and Go announced it filed for bankruptcy and would close all 70 of its restaurants in Arizona and Nevada.
We shared the news with readers on Tuesday, then headed over to a Phoenix Salad and Go at Cactus Road near Tatum Boulevard during lunchtime the next day. Dozens of cars spilled from the drive-thru line and onto the road, with people waiting to order one last frozen strawberry lemonade, buffalo chicken wrap or cobb salad.
Those diners used words like “devastated” and “insane” to describe the news of the downfall of this fast salad spot.
On social media, Phoenix New Times readers had more mixed emotions. On Instagram and Facebook, nearly 300 readers shared their sadness, satisfaction or just some dad jokes. Here’s what they had to say.
Everyone on Instagram, check on Nate, who wrote:
This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.
Many, like Isaiah, had a favorite they’ll miss, but probably none more than one drink:
No, the frozen strawberry lemonade 😩
Isaiah, we’re sorry to break it to you how this frozen treat is made. But Julias_Street posted a single-serve recipe on TikTok.
Brandy, you’re a true salad advocate:
I’ve never eaten there, but my grieving of Sweet Tomatoes has never died, so I can understand the sadness being shared here.
But let’s stay focused on this current salad news. Mary was understandable worried about the staff:
Hope employees got paid!!
We’ve asked and are still waiting to hear from Salad and Go whether they’ll provide severance pay to their workers.
Pam felt the same way:
Devastating. Sad for all those that worked here. Great concept and very affordable, healthy food.
For those who feel like Pam, Inyene had a suggestion on where to eat now:
Everyone please just go to Angie’s 😭 It’s the original Salad and Go owners.
She’s right. Tony and Roushan Christofellis founded Salad and Go in Gilbert in 2013. Volt Investments, a private equity firm, took a stake in the business and bought out the couple in 2021. That same year, the couple launched the first of its fresh, fast family of Angie’s restaurants, starting with Angie’s Lobster.
The Christofellises will add six new Angie’s in Arizona by the end of the year. For anyone hunting work: they’re hiring (and team members start at $18.51 per hour).
Readers like Kyle were already on their way on Wednesday:
To commemorate this day, I’m going to Angie’s.
Sabrina was understandably confused by the downfall of the chain:
What’s crazy is they are always packed. Their line is wrapped around the building. Weird they went bankrupt.
The reasons for Salad and Go’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closure were complicated, as Myriam vividly points out:
I blame the lettuce causing diarrhea outbreak 😭, scaring everyone away.
Though its food was never implicated in the Cyclospora outbreak, Salad and Go did point to it scaring off customers as one factor in the chain’s demise. Also, costs were rising as customer demand was slumping. When we spoke with Christofellis, he shared that they departed because they were concerned with how quickly investors wanted to expand the salad chain.
There were signs that Salad and Go was in trouble. In September 2025, Salad and Go closed more than 40 restaurants. By January, the chain announced it would close the remaining stores in Oklahoma and Texas. In its bankruptcy filing, the company referenced the burden of paying “dead rent” on those vacant stores among its financial challenges.
Cody put a finer point on it for fellow readers:
The official announcement is bullshit. The real story is private equity/corporate buy in/buy out then the recipe is always the same. Minimize quality and quantity and maximize profits.
Robert, who described himself as a “former huge fan,” was right there with Cody, offering “Good Riddance!” to the chain. The final straw, he explained in a detailed comment, was the “enshittification” of Salad and Go’s breakfast burritos:
They changed their menu too many times, while lacking and decreasing in quality, to the point that on the latest breakfast change, my girlfriend and I tried it ONCE, then swore we are never going to their trash eatery again.
When the news broke that Salad and Go would close, restaurants and online meme-makers were quick to slap their logos onto the recognizable drive-thrus, claiming the likes of local taco shops and even Spirit Halloween would take over the soon-to-be-empty restaurants. But the same day Salad and Go filed for Chapter 11, court documents also showed an interested buyer lined up: Dutch Bros.
A federal bankruptcy judge will have to approve the sale, but readers like Sharon already have thoughts:
Dang…we do not need more coffee!! We want more salad!
If you’ve made it this far down, we’ve got a reward for your time: some of our favorite salad-inspired zingers.
Lettuce congratulate Silver Lake Rodeo on their apt pun:
They may be gone tomorrow, but the memories will romaine forever.
Lynn summed it up best:
Salad and GONE.
Sara Crocker
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