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Sweetgreen

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Aug 2007

Opens first store

FoundingOpens Store0 Comments

Georgetown University graduates Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman and Nathaniel Ru open their first store in Georgetown. They want to connect with people through food. Because they have nowhere healthy to eat, they decide to start a healthy restaurant that is fun and also promotes their core values. They focus on creating a farm to table experience from food that is locally sourced.

Sweetgreen was born when we were still students. The three of us really bonded over the fact that there was something missing in our life — we had nowhere healthy to eat. . . . We wanted to create something healthy, that was fun. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was someplace that did our values. We shared this passion for creating something and we just decided to close our eyes and do it.

9 Sep, 2008

First year success

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Sweetgreen has seen strong sales over the past year and has made a significant profit selling salads, wraps and yogurt despite the fact that its store is small and only has a few tables and benches. Their customers are mostly young adults and students.

Before we opened, we outlined three financial projections: worst case, most likely case and best case. And, over the past year, we have performed financially at least in best case or over.

 

8 Apr, 2009

Opens second store

Opens Store0 Comments

Sweetgreen opens its second store at Dupont circle in Washington, D.C. Several hundred guests are in attendance.

When we opened our second store, not doing any business, bought a giant speaker, set up outside on the sidewalk, something natural happened, it was no longer just a place to eat. We did our first block party and it was incredible. The block party turned into a bigger block party which turned into our first festival which was maybe 500 people.

4 Dec, 2013

$22 million funding

Fundraising0 Comments

Revolution Growth invests $22 million dollars in sweetgreen. The investment will go towards national expansion of its stores, building its team and corporate culture, and growing community programs and marketing initiatives. Case, Revolution Growth’s co-founder, is joining the board and acting as advisor.

We are incredibly proud to partner with Steve Case and Revolution Growth, a company that not only knows how to build and scale some of the most exciting brands, but embraces our core values. This investment will enable us to bring sweetgreen’s original vision to life in more communities across the country, continue to build an outstanding team of people, and support our local farmers and communities. It’s what we set out to do when we opened our first sweetgreen in Georgetown six years ago, and we could not be more excited for the company’s future.

11 Nov, 2014

$18.5 million funding

Fundraising0 Comments

Revolution Growth invests another $18.5 million into sweetgreen bringing its total to $40.5 million.

The words ‘seasonality’ and ‘fast food’ are rarely used together, but at sweetgreen, we believe that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive — it just takes a commitment to standing behind our food ethos and working with farmers that share the same values.

They currently have 27 stores on the east coast.

21 May, 2015

Expands to California

Opens Store0 Comments

Sweetgreen expands to California opening its first store in West Hollywood close to the Farmers’ Market.

L.A. has always been where we wanted to go. So much of what we consider ‘the sweetlife’ was inspired by L.A. and the way people live there.

Because it purchases its food from local sources, the menu is slightly different from stores on the east coast. Two new dishes are a salad called “West Roast” and a rice bowl called “Hollywood Bowl.” Each store has a chalkboard that lists ingredients and where they come from.

We had to get a much bigger board for California. It’s the same Sweetgreen, but a slightly different experience — but that’s how it should be, because that’s what nature created. . . .You don’t have to compromise. You can have great food that is also healthy and also affordable in a cool environment.

 

1 Jul, 2015

$35 million funding

Fundraising0 Comments

Sweetgreen receives $35 million in additional investments from T. Rowe Price and Revolution Growth bringing the company’s total funding to $95 million. The investment will be used for technology, building its supply chain and building the sweetgreen team, both at the corporate level and hiring employees for new stores.

We’re making huge investments in training and development. . . . We want to bridge the gap between health and convenience, but do it at a national scale.