Sweetgreen Menu Prices & Sweetpass Details (2023)

Sweetgreen is a fast-casual restaurant with a focus on salads and healthy, convenient eating. While attending Georgetown University, Sweetgreen’s founders struggled to find healthy food options while on campus. Instead of complaining about the issue and moving on, the founders decided to launch their own restaurant with a mission to serve healthy food options.

Fast forward to 2023 and Sweetgreen’s has 227 locations in 19 states. Check out the update menu prices below and find out if the innovative Sweetpass program is right for you.

Seasonals

Plates

Warm Bowls

Salads

Sides

Shareables

Beverages

The Ordering Process 

If you’ve never been to a Sweetgreen location, here’s how it all works. First, place an order at the counter, online or through the app. Then the assembly of your meals begins.

For salads, a team member combines the greens, proteins, toppings, and dressings as per the customer’s preferences or the recipe for signature salads. Warm bowls follow a similar process. Each ingredient is added to the bowl in the order specified including a warm base like quinoa or rice then pick your protein like chicken, tofu, or fish. This process ensures each meal is fresh and made to order. Then the only step left is to pay for and enjoy your meal.

Sweetgreen menu poster.

Where is Sweetgreen Located?

According to the Sweetgreen locations page, California (43) has the most Sweetgreen locations at the time of writing, followed by New York (36), Illinois (23) and Massachusetts (23). There are 7 locations listed as coming soon. Including the “coming soon” locations there are 227 restaurants with more growth on the horizon.

• CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles: 24, Northern California: 12, Orange County: 3 (including 1 “coming soon”). San Diego: 4
• CONNECTICUT: 2
• COLORADO: 6
• FLORIDA: Fort Lauderdale: 1, Miami: 6 (including 1 “coming soon”), West Palm: 2, Tampa: 2, Total for Florida: 11 (including 1 “coming soon”)
• GEORGIA: 6
• Indiana: 4
• ILLINOIS: 23
• MARYLAND: 7
• MASSACHUSETTS: 23
• MICHIGAN: 4
• MINNESOTA: 4
• NEW JERSEY: 5
• NEW YORK: New York Metro: 5, New York City: 31
• TEXAS: Austin: 4 (including 1 “coming soon”), Dallas + Fort Worth: 5, Houston: 7, San Antonio: 1
• PENNSYLVANIA: 7
• RHODE ISLAND: 1
• VIRGINIA: 10
• WASHINGTON DC: 12
• WASHINGTON: 3 (all “coming soon”)
• WISCONSIN: 3

Will you be attending a soft launch?

What is the Sweetpass? 

Sweetgreen has introduced “Sweetpass” a new loyalty program after years of customer feedback and testing. Unlike most customer rewards program, the program is available in two tiers: Sweetpass and Sweetpass+ (a $10 per month membership). Here are the options:

1. Sweetpass: This is the free version of the loyalty program. Members can earn rewards by participating in personalized “challenges.” They also get exclusive access to new menu items and limited edition merchandise drops.
2. Sweetpass+: Available for $10 per month, this premium tier offers members daily discounts of $3 off Sweetgreen orders, priority support, special delivery perks, premier access to merchandise drops, and exclusive Sweetgreen experiences. This tier was first piloted in January 2022 and received positive customer feedback, prompting its official inclusion in the program.

Both Sweetpass and Sweetpass+ can be accessed and managed via the Sweetgreen app or website, where members can also stay informed about exclusive menu releases and new merchandise.

Both tiers give you annual birthday reward. Birthday Gift Reward in the form of a discount for up to $10 in value. This discount is automatically credited to your account near your date of birth.

A unique aspect of the Sweetpass+ program is the “Friends of Earth” perk, where members can contribute to Sweetgreen’s sustainability efforts by helping select a carbon reduction partner. At the end of the year, Sweetgreen will consider these suggestions when choosing an organization to support, aligning with their goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2027.

Is the Sweetpass+ Worth It?

This is a subject of much debate online whether or not the monthly paid subscription is worth the investment. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise considering there’s no other restaurant requiring $10 a month fee. Botton line, the Sweetpass+ is only “worth it” for customers that order from the restaurant at least one time per week.

With the Sweetpass+ you get a daily $3 off coupon. If you eat at Sweetgreen one time per week on average, you’ll get $12 worth of savings. This means you save $2 at the end of the month when you factor in the monthly charge of $10. Take a look at your dining habits and determine if the math works for you.

Related Reading: Salad Dressing Business Name Ideas Organized by Flavor 

Of course there are other perks too like special challenges that can take another $5 – $7 off your order as part of the program so if you eat at Sweetgreen enough this unique program can save you money as long as you use it.

Some members of the program say they add reminders to their calendars to make sure they’ve eaten at Sweetgreen enough times each month to make the program valuable. I thought this was a smart idea so it doesn’t end up being another subscription that you pay for, but don’t use. Of course, you can cancel the Sweetpass+ membership at anytime online or in the app.

The Sweetgreen Story 

You may be surprised to learn Sweetgreen was not an immediate success. The founders had to overcome numerous challenges that they’ve been gracious to share across numerous interviews in podcast, YouTube, and print media. The story of Sweetgreen is not just about food, but about the entrepreneurial spirit of its three founders.

Sweetgreen opened with little fanfare in the early days.

The story begins at Georgetown University, where three young men (Nicolas Jammet, Johnathan Newman, and Nathaniel Ru) from diverse backgrounds found a common ground that transcended their cultural differences — a passion for entrepreneurship and a vision for a healthier world.

As mentioned earlier, their story wasn’t one of overnight success. it was a tale of perseverance, innovation, and a bit of serendipity. Their first location opened its doors in August of 2007, but the fanfare they might have hoped for was absent. Nathaniel recalls the disheartening sight of an empty store, admitting to his partners, “This isn’t going to work… we’ve had a lot of moments like that.”

To get the word out about the restaurant, Nathaniel tapped into his love for music and creativity, Sweetgreen hosted a block party with a DJ to attract customers. This publicity stunt was a resounding success, saving their fledgling business and setting a precedent for Sweetgreen’s future community-centric marketing initiatives. This event generated buzz for the concept and built a foundation of customers.

But there were more challenges on the horizon. In 2009, the Great Recession and economic downturns resulted in unemployment soaring and consumer budgets getting crushed. Disposable income was at a minimum at the time, and luxury or non-essential spending was often the first to be cut. Despite these headwinds, Sweetgreen decided to move forward and try to grow their restaurant during these challenging times.

Fortunately, the trio didn’t give in to despair. They believed in their mission and being raised in immigrant households were more comfortable taking business risks. Nathaniel said the partners had “Permission to fail,” reflecting on the lower stakes they faced as young 20-somethings without the burdens of family responsibilities or high-paying jobs to lose. Save to say the business risk paid off in this story.

Learn more about the Sweetgreen story with Nicolas Jammet and Johnathan Newman on the How I Built This podcast. It’s well worth a listen if you’re interested in this salad-focused restaurant or entrepreneurship in general.