At 10 a.m. the line in front of Sweet Tomatoes wasn’t too long, but by the grand opening at 11 a.m. it snaked down the side of the restaurant to the sidewalk.

Gloomy skies didn’t stop customers from lining up for the first Sweet Tomatoes location nationwide to reopen in Tucson on Monday, April 1. As they waited, people in line at 6202 E Broadway Blvd. shared memories and every once in a while, peeked over others in line to see if the doors were opening.

People had reason to be excited. For the first time since the popular salad bar chain closed its restaurants nationwide in March 2020, it was back.

The Broadway location is the first to reopen since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We came back for the nostalgia and memories that this place has for us,” Doreen Press said while standing in the front of the line with her husband, Chris.

Doreen Press said the couple frequented the location before it closed and were familiar with the staff.

“They did a soft opening last week and we definitely contributed to that,” Chris Press said with a chuckle. “It’s nice to see familiar faces from the staff come back to the restaurant as well. It’s like nothing has changed.”

While there were plenty of Tucsonans at the opening, there were also some people who traveled a distance.

Matt Morales came from Peoria, the far northwest Phoenix suburb.

“We wanted to give it a shot,” he said. “We used to go to the California location when we used to live in Anaheim, but now we’re in Peoria and we just wanted to come out and see if it’s familiar like old times.”

Tucsonan Ashley Lovett, who was near the front of the line, said she was a regular at the Tucson restaurant.

She stood in Monday’s line with her friend, Kelley Raines, who said she was hoping the relaunched Sweet Tomatoes was the same as the one they loved.

At 11 a.m. on the dot, Sweet Tomatoes Chief Operating Officer Mike Malone and the Tucson managers cut the ribbon and opened the doors and diners began to stream in just as the rain picked up. Staff members handed out commemorative stickers and pins to mark the occasion.

“This has been four years in the making and it’s just been fabulous,” Malone said. “We did an unannounced soft opening last Monday and it went great.”

Malone called the community response to the reopening fantastic. He also said that staffing this location has been a breeze.

“We were fortunate enough to get a lot of our original staff back,” Malone said. “I have just about my whole management team back from four years ago so that helped us ease into this reopening.”

The Broadway restaurant is a test run for reopening other locations; how well it goes could determine how they will roll out more re-openings across the country.

“The world has changed in these four years,” Malone said. “Food is definitely pricier, but the community has remained the same, so we’re seeing how this goes before making any further decisions.”

The community has indeed stayed the same. As customers were filing in through the doors, two older customers came in wearing matching Sweet Tomatoes shirts. A couple of employees recognized the men and welcomed them back.

The Broadway restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.