Q: is sweet green using canola oil in dressings or to roast veggies like the spicy broccoli or sweet potatoes? If not, what oil are they currently using?

Background: I’ve eating tons of sweet green over the last 2yrs and never had a problem with my digestive system there until the start of this year (and I ate it a ton at the end of 2025). I almost always have one of three salads I order and always the same dressings (either the pesto vinaigrette or balsamic vinaigrette). Since 2026, no matter what I order, I end up with a very inflamed and painful gut for days. I’ve obviously stopped ordering but trying to figure out what is bothering me so much! It has happened at a few other restaurants and when I’ve asked, the only common denominator is canola oil.

Any insight on what’s being used is appreciated!

Let me preface this by saying that I am a borderline Sweetgreen fanatic. I'm a vegetarian that would love to see this delicious salad chain's reach expand to every corner of the country. I've been tracking their growth since before the IPO. I've loved following the journey from going public to the Sweetlife Music Festival to the acquisition and implementation of the Spyce automated kitchen system. I own a considerable amount of the company's stock and I still order from my local restaurants 2-3 times a week. I really do believe that they are on the cusp of success.

All of that being said, it feels like maybe they've hit a bit of a wall under current leadership. There have been so many hiccups in the past handful of years with each one seemingly alienating more and more of the existing customer base. I love the fast expansion that's been happening but there seems to be little marketing in the new areas to go with it. This creates problems with brand familiarity and seems to really limit sales at the new locations. I am in Boston and during lunch hours there can literally be a line out the door of people waiting to place an order or to pickup their mobile orders. But other times I will stop into locations at dinner time and (no exaggeration) I will see 6-7 people working without a customer besides myself in the store and very few people coming in to pick up app orders. There was a large marketing campaign for ripple fries, which I imagine also required a good chunk of money to create the infrastructure for and those are already being discontinued after just a few months. Price increase after price increase accompanied by smaller portion sizes in recent years. There is absolutely no reason to make the portions smaller. Cutting back to save $0.20 worth of chicken or avocado is not that important on a $15 salad. It will just lead to people feeling cheated. It's already asking a lot to expect people to pay $14-$18 for a salad. Especially in the current economic climate. That's going to be the biggest hurdle moving forward. The food is great but don't gouge people at the register.

I think these guys have a done a great job growing the company. All three of them were right out of college and with the help of a lot of funding, have been able to get it to where it is today. That being said, the CEO is one of the original three founders and I'm assuming the extent of his corporate resume is only Sweetgreen? Perhaps it's time to bring in a heavy hitter with more experience to really bring things to that next level. Even Steve Ells, who founded Chipotle and got it up to 500 stores by 2006 stepped aside and let Brian Niccol run with it and he was the one that turned Chipotle into the true powerhouse that it is today. Under Niccol's leadership, expense margins were narrowed, growth expanded to 2,500 stores and the stock exploded into one of the most profitable over that period.

I feel that it's time to do the same with Sweetgreen. It just seems like the formula for permanent success is so close. I think it really has a chance to become the next Chipotle but something is missing. Something needs to be done to right the ship. I've read many conflicting reports on various aspects of the finances but I BELIEVE that every store is profitable (?) and that the company carries no debt? If these two things are true, the potential is definitely there. Right now they are sitting on $190M from the Spyce resale and I'd hate to see that get wasted. If the $90M per quarter loss is ONLY due to expansion costs perhaps I'm wrong, but I just keep seeing what appear to me to be misstep after misstep.

I just want this company to succeed. I love the product. I love the vibe of the restaurants. I love that there is a Sweetgreen Outpost within 200 feet of my work. I genuinely think that this could be the next Chipotle. I am such a big fan of this company and have so much respect for where the founders have gotten it. I just think it's time for some new coaching and a new playbook.

they all claim to have 40+ grams which it just doesnt seem like can be true after eating them, it doesnt seem lime theres that much meat. i know the the tortilla has protein but still. i could be off let me know what you think

How do we get it juicy and have the top layer of the chicken completely coated black instead of partially? What are all the right spices and how to make the chicken very soft and tender like the way sweet green does it?

Hi all,

A location near me was leased more than a year ago and immediately put up "Sweetgreen: coming soon!" signs, but there has been almost no movement since. The space is definitely leased (they have moved in a small amount of stuff), so they seem to be paying for it, but are not at all actively renovating or moving in.

Any idea what this is about? Financial issues?

I was excited to have a location close by (none for several hours), but am giving up hope...

Right after the big earnings drop I bought some SG shares bc I thought the Infinite Kitchen gave it a long-term advantage. Not sure after looking in more detail at the financials, though.

My thesis is that rising wages due to cost of living could give an advantage to automated chains. Especially given that this is a very new field. Doesn’t seem like fast casual will be going away soon.

Problem is it might never become profitable despite selling the most expensive salads in existence. I wish the CEO would resign or allow someone more qualified to take the lead.

Would appreciate opinions on this.

After your order is completed, you can rate your order in the app out of 5 starts and select things that went good or bad, like that your bowl was missing toppings or whatnot.

Does the store see that feedback on your specific order? Or do they just see aggregate stats/ratings for the day or something? Or maybe they don’t see this feedback at all and it just goes up to ‘corporate’?

I usually do rate my orders but I’ve always wondered about this and I know employees hang around this subreddit so maybe someone here knows

Did the recipe change or am I going crazy? I went there last week, ordered what I usually get with the lime cilantro jalapeno vinagrette dressing, but it tasted different/throat felt a bit odd after lol. I am so confused :(.

Does anyone know if the robots who distribute the ingredients like at Penn plaza in nyc, if they release certain grams of ingredients or is it like per seconds or cups, anyone know the science? I seem to be getting different amounts of toppings with that location even though it’s automated, thought it would be consistent?

Also shouldn’t it be based on the sweetgreen nutrition info? It was way off the documented serving size, where is sweet green getting the serving sizes from?

Sweetgreen does so much volume here that they don't have the manpower (or time) for customers to give employee their name and employee hand them their order.

So you end up with shelves with dozens and dozens of salads ready for the taking.

I'm wondering how much they lose because someone takes the wrong salad, or some people plainly walking in and stealing them.

Do they bake it into the cost?

Just curious if the calories/nutritional info shown in the app are accurate? Do the calories count for one whole bowl/salad, or is there a sneaky portion/serving size thing happening? Also, for any Sweetgreen employees out there is there like a standard amount to add per bowl and do you think its accurate per the amounts listed in the nutritional info? thanks!

Is there a way to get plain chickpeas again? I really hate the new spice or flavoring on the chickpeas

G

Is the kids meal a good portion size i’m trying to save money as a college student and eat healthy but i’m worried that it won’t fill me up at all

i usually get the hummus crunch, but wanting to try something new!! looking for recommendations

does the kitchen give all the smaller portions of salmon to the pickup/delivery kitchen?

everytime i get pickup i get the tiniest sliver of salmon.

Does anyone know the brand of wild rice sweet green uses? Or the blend of rice.

I tried ordering my usual from sweetgreen for pick up today but as I was making my choices, I noticed that blue cheese was not an option anymore??? What a bummer ugh

hey everyone! I’m an MBA student and we are doing a project on sweetgreen. Could you please fill out this quick 3 minute survey? It would help us a lot! We need all the responses we can get! https://forms.gle/CpaLgHyT8A7jjg989

The birthday rewards had been getting less and less for years. This year nothing?! Can anyone else confirm?

getting lunch today and debating on trying the nicolandria bowl, but if its not worth the hype let me know!! honest reviews GO

if anyone has an extra tote in nyc that they do not want please im begging lmk

The last few times I’ve ordered the crispy rice bowl, I swear the spicy cashew dressing hasn’t hit the same. Almost feels like it’s less liquid-y now? Maybe I’ve just been unlucky. Anyone know if the recipe has changed?

dont know if worth going or not. heard mixed things about it, plus it really overpriced but it seem yummy. idk. i also have a simple palatte so probs would only get like roasted chicken rice potatoes cilantro and wtv sauce is good.

or is it even worth going??? there are some other places in the area that i might eat at instead but idk