Salad stans, start your engines.
Sweetgreen, the noted purveyor of salads and protein bowls, has, quite fittingly, chosen the fertile vehicular environs of Orange County for its first drive-thru location with an automated kitchen.
Branded by the Los Angeles-based company as a “sweetlane,” the new Sweetgreen drive-thru will officially open Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 280 Bristol St. in Costa Mesa. This marks the company’s sixth Orange County location, moving into the former space occupied by Veg’d, Matthew Kenney’s plant-based pitstop that shuttered in 2024.
The new space will use the company’s Infinite Kitchen technology, Sweetgreen’s once-proprietary “robotic” food-prep system that can crank out an estimated 500 salads and bowls per hour, roughly 50% faster than human workers. (Related: According to Fast Company, the company recently announced plans to sell Spyce, the business behind its automated Infinite Kitchen technology, to virtual food hall company Wonder in a multimillion-dollar deal.) This efficiency will be combined with the ease of a drive-up window dedicated to digital orders. Customers can order in advance using the Sweetgreen app or website and then pick up their grub from a human being via the drive-thru; dine-in seating and in-store pickup also available for guests who want to sit a spell.
While this isn’t the company’s first drive-thru location (that honor goes to Schaumberg, Ill), it is its first drive-thru using the automated kitchen technology.
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The upcoming 2,223-square foot location will open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Menu highlights will include such favorites as the Harvest Bowl, Crispy Rice Bowl, Caramelized Garlic Steak and Miso Glazed Salmon. The company also offers fall-themed menu items like roasted tomatoes, candied pumpkin seeds and maple-glazed Brussels sprouts.
Also of note: On opening day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. guests can enjoy special treats like free mini scoops of Stella Jean’s Ice Cream, photo opportunities with a vintage VW van, autumnal candles from Happy Organics and more.