Sweetgreen, the D.C.-birthed fast casual health diner that has long been a SoCal staple, will be opening its first Long Beach location. Situated in the Marketplace complex at the southeast corner of 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway, the space will open up just west of Trader Joe’s. Breaking ground nearly seven weeks ago in August, the space is already has signage up with an opening expected in the coming months.
It brings a definitely healthy alternative to Long Beach, defined by its create-your-own salads and seasonal ingredients. How well will it work in a space that is largely a drive-to-and-leave area? That remains up in the air.
Wait—what is Sweetgreen?
In 2006, three Georgetown University seniors—Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru, and Jonathan Neman—were tired of the uninspired options that passed for “healthy food.” That particularly stood true for fast food. The trio believed fast food didn’t have to be both processed and soulless; it could be quick, seasonal, and sourced from the people who actually grew food.
In 2007, they opened the first Sweetgreen in a tiny M Street space in Washington, D.C., a cramped former tavern that forced them to keep things simple: a handful of salads, a few hot bowls, all built around local produce and simple design. As the brand grew across the East Coast, California was always on the horizon — not just as a market, but as an ideal. In 2015, Sweetgreen opened its first West Coast location in West Hollywood, followed quickly by Santa Monica. The move felt almost inevitable.
The brand’s aesthetic—minimalist, light-filled interiors, a focus on local produce, with the touch of “wellness chic” that mostly non-natives seek—was an eventual shoe-in for SoCal’s migrators. Partnering with regional farms, they rotated seasonal menus and collaborated with L.A. personalities like Chef Nancy Silverton, seamlessly weaving themselves into the state’s already rich farm-to-table culture while appealing to the stereotypical SoCal crowd.
How Sweetgreen became a SoCal brand that usurped its roots.
By 2016, Sweetgreen made it official: the company relocated its headquarters from D.C. to Los Angeles. What began as an East Coast salad startup was now a West Coast brand. Add to that California’s deep agricultural ties and obsession with seasonality, and Sweetgreen’s ethos resonated even more. Ordering a bowl of warm grains, charred broccoli, and spicy cashew dressing felt more West Coast than anything (depending on who you’re talking to).
Sweetgreen will be located at 6451 E. Pacific Coast Hwy. in Unit C1.
