Sweetgreen is a relative newcomer to Orange County. There are more than 200 Sweetgreen locations around the country serving a chef-crafted menu of seasonal salads, bowls, plates and sides. Orange County has three Sweetgreen locations: Tustin, Irvine Spectrum, and Huntington Beach.
Wait—make that four locations.
Sweetgreen is opening a restaurant on August 6 in Fashion Island, and this location is different than most Sweetgreen eateries in that it adds automation to the experience. It’s one of only a handful of locations in the country that features the restaurant’s new Infinite Kitchen technology which takes on the process of assembling meals. Sweetgreen’s Infinite Kitchen is designed to increase consistency, efficiency, and productivity while also enhancing the team member and customer experience.
Here’s how it works: The bowls are ordered at a kiosk (a human helper is available to assist), and then filled mainly by an automated assembly line that has more than 50 tubes filled with various ingredients. A bowl is sent down the assembly line to automatically be filled with ingredients for a particular order. Proteins or other hot items are added by a team member at the end of the line. And for the bowls of salads, they can even be automatically shaken once dressing is applied.
It’s estimated that the new Infinite Kitchen method can process up to 500 orders per hour—a 50 percent increase over the manual method at a regular Sweetgreen.
This is farm-to-table fast food taken to another level. The bowls come out looking picture-perfect and ready to enjoy. They are served in recyclable containers ready to consume on the spot or take back to your office or home.
The new automated system will not take away jobs. Sweetgreen said their team members remain the heart and soul of the operation. Whether it’s the fresh prep in the open kitchen, customer assistance at the ordering counter, or putting finishing touches on each customer’s plate or bowl, the Sweetgreen team is there to help.
Wanting to experience the process in action, I paid a visit to the Huntington Beach location and ordered the chicken avocado ranch with blackened chicken, avocado, pickled onions, apples, tortilla chips, white rice, chopped romaine, and green goddess ranch. The bowl quickly glided along the processing line, stopping momentarily at the appropriate tubes to gather ingredients before moving – and rotating – down the line until it came to the end and was completed by a team member.
The bowl was tasty with the green goddess dressing a fun, flavorful touch. I also had the rosemary focaccia bread and hummus, which I found addicting—I’d order this every time in addition to a main course.
Opening Day at Sweetgreen Fashion Island
Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 6, guests can enjoy Sweetgreen’s freshly prepared meals while they celebrate opening day with complimentary activations featuring local partners. For every meal sold at the grand opening, Sweetgreen will donate a meal to Food Finders to nourish people in Orange County experiencing food insecurity.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on August 6, Sweetgreen will host a Farmer’s Market that features suppliers from the restaurant’s extensive network of trusted farm partners throughout Southern California. The first 200 customers to visit the Farmer’s Market will receive a complimentary bio-knit sustainable mesh Sweetgreen tote from Junes to fill with locally baked Rosemary Focaccia Bread from Santa Ana-based BREAD Artisan Bakery, Artisan Farmstead Goat Cheese from Drake’s Family Farms, and avocados from GreenFruit Avocados. Sweetgreen Fashion Island opening day giveaways are available while supplies last.
Opening day attendees will also be treated to a floral bouquet by Newport Beach’s own French Buckets (while supplies last). Guests can enjoy live acoustic sets from local O.C. musician Brandon Wildish, and order lunch from Sweetgreen’s menu of salads, warm bowls, and new protein-packed plates.
Sweetgreen will be active in the Newport Beach community by supporting events such as the Newport Beach Film Festival and the Pacific Wine & Food Festival, held every fall at Newport Dunes.
“Since we opened in Orange County last year the warm welcome from the community has been amazing. We can’t wait to offer guests their favorite Sweetgreen dishes like our iconic Harvest Bowl and Miso Glazed Salmon Plate when they visit Fashion Island,” said Jonathan Neman, CEO and Co-Founder of Sweetgreen.
The new Sweetgreen is at 853 Newport Center Dr. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. seating 24 diners indoors and 16 on the patio.
Visit www.order.sweetgreen.com to order for pickup or to-go. For more information, visit
