A beloved buffet restaurant will hold its grand opening on Monday, June 1, according to the website operated by the new owners of Sweet Tomatoes.

The grand opening means the soup, bread and salad restaurant will take in customers to maximum capacity. Currently in a soft opening, only some diners have been able to eat at Sweet Tomatoes and the restaurant was closed on Sunday.

Sweet Tomatoes is located on U.S. 41, just south of Daniels Parkway. The previous owners closed the entire chain in 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The soft opening

At least a dozen people were waiting outside the restaurant on a recent afternoon to be allowed in to sample the huge salad bar, along with soups, fresh breads, pastas and desserts. When some customers came out of the place, roughly an equal number were let in.

Cora Johnson said she is visiting the Naples area, and she came with her twin sister after learning of the soft opening. "I love the food," she said. "It's nice to see a reminder of pre-Covid life." That's a reference to the closing of all Sweet Tomatoes restaurants a couple of months after the pandemic began in 2020.

New owners bought the rights to the name, and the first restaurant re-opened in Arizona about two years ago. The Fort Myers area location is the second to re-open.

'I am so excited to be here'

Rick and Lydia Ely waited outside the doors on Tuesday afternoon, anxious to get inside. "The food is just so healthy" Lydia Ely said. "I am so excited to be here and yes, the food is wonderful and healthy," Rick Ely said.

As word of the soft opening spread, lines stretched around the building as people waited in the warm May sun to get in.

A posting on one of many Sweet Tomatoes Facebook pages said the grand opening will be at 10:30 a.m. on June 1. The restaurant will be open seven days a week after the grand opening.

Mike Walcher is a reporter with WGCU News. He also teaches Journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University.