Richmond to get its first Sweetgreen restaurant

Sweetgreen is taking over the space next to Monkee’s clothing store and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. (Photo by Mike Platania)

A national restaurant chain has chosen Carytown for its local market debut. 

Sweetgreen, which serves salads and bowls and has more than 200 locations nationwide, is preparing to open its first Richmond-area location in the Carytown Exchange at 3502 W. Cary St.

The restaurant is taking one of the final suites in the Carytown Exchange with a 2,200-square-foot spot next to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, according to planning documents filed with the city in recent days.

It’s unclear when Sweetgreen hopes to open in Richmond. Spokespeople for the company weren’t available for comment by press time. 

Sweetgreen’s bowls are typically priced around $15. (Courtesy Sweetgreen)

Sweetgreen will join a host of other national food chains at the Publix-anchored development, including Pure Green, Torchy’s Tacos, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Burtons Grill & Bar and Rise Southern Biscuits, the last of which is aiming to open this fall.

Only two suites totaling around 3,000 square feet remain available at the Carytown Exchange, according to a leasing flier from Thalhimer, whose brokers David Crawford and Jim Ashby handle leasing at the development.

Sweetgreen was founded in D.C. in 2006 and is now headquartered in Los Angeles. Among its hundreds of locations are 20 spots in the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia area. 

The company went public in the fall of 2021 but has struggled to post a profit since. It lost $26 million in the first quarter of 2024, according to SEC filings. 

It salads and bowls are typically priced around $15. 

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