Dollie's Brings Back the Soup-and-Salad Buffet to Sandy -

A create-your-own salad from Dollie's Soup and Salad restaurant in Sandy, Utah. — *A create-your-own salad from Dollie’s Soup and Salad restaurant in Sandy, Utah.*

Last week I visited Dollie’s Soup and Salad, which recently opened in the old Sweet Tomatoes location at 10060 South State in Sandy.

The Dollie’s logo is embossed on the booth back rests at Dollie’s Soup and Salad in Sandy.

Dollie’s mantra of “Just like you remember it,” might puzzle some who don’t remember the Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation restaurants. This Sandy location closed about seven years ago. But back in the 2000s when I was working in the Salt Lake area, I was a fan of Sweet Tomatoes’ salad bar buffet.

It was great to stack your plate with a huge variety of veggies, which you probably wouldn’t keep on hand at home, or want to chop and shred and slice on your own.

Muffins at Dollie's Soup and Salad in Sandy. — *Muffins at Dollie’s Soup and Salad in Sandy.*

When one of my sons announced that he intended go through life without ever having to eat a salad, that was OK, because Sweet Tomatoes had pastas, soups and a baked potato bar to fill up on. Not to mention muffins and soft-serve ice cream.

There wasn’t much meat on the menu — maybe just the the bacon at the baked potato bar and chicken in the chicken noodle soup.

*The serve-yourself soups at Dollie’s Soup and Salad in Sandy.*

*Crisp lettuces at Dollies Soup and Salad in Sandy.*

*A long line (duplicated on the other side) of veggies and other salad toppings is very similar to the Sweet Tomatoes concept.*

Dollie’s is right out of the Sweet Tomatoes playbook. When we walked in, we were greeted with a staffer who handed us a tray and explained the format. The long buffet line of salad ingredients looked familiar.

Romaine, iceberg, spinach and spring mix lettuces serve as the foundation for make-your-own salads.

*Navigating the salad buffet line at Dollie’s Soup and Salad in Sandy.*

Then you top it with choices like carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, red cabbage, chopped broccoli and cauliflower, cucumbers, zucchini, celery, red onions, black olives, pickles, sunflower seeds, pickled beets, corn, peas, baby corn, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, blue cheese crumbles, sliced hard-boiled eggs, raisins, wonton strips, croutons. There were about nine choices of dressings.

*You can also take a few scoops of ready-made salads.*

There were also some already-made salads like potato, pesto pasta, carrot raisin, and coleslaw.

The Dollie's dining area is similar to the old Sweet Tomatoes — even the carpeting is the same. — *The Dollie’s dining area is similar to the old Sweet Tomatoes — even the carpeting is the same. Note the Dollie’s logo on the booth dividers.*

Even the carpeting is the same – black background with red tomatoes. The booths have added the Dollie’s logo to the backrests. That’s a nice touch.

A couple of differences that you should know before you go:

1. There’s no cash-payment option. So bring your credit or debit card.

2. Instead of paying at a register, the staffer who comes to your table and removes your finished plates also takes your credit card.

3. Prices are $14.95 lunch; $17.85 dinner; senior discount of $2 off either lunch or dinner.

Kids are free up to age 3; $7.45 ages 4-9; $10.45 ages 10-12. Prices include beverages. (I had Coke Zero and my hubs had milk.)

When we visited on a Tuesday at about 1:30 p.m., the place was at least two-thirds full. Not bad for a weekday, just couple months after opening. Clearly, word is getting out.

*Pastas are mixed with sauces and served at a hot bar.*

Pastas are mixed with sauces at Dollie's Soup and Salad in Sandy. — *A staffer mixes pasta with sauce at Dollie’s Soup and Salad in Sandy.*

While getting a bowl of soup, I saw a manager, who told me that his brother owns the restaurant. It’s independently owned; not a chain. He said they both had worked at the former Sweet Tomatoes, so they were familiar with the format.

Why the name “Dollie’s”? He said it was named for their grandmother, who cooked everything from scratch.

When I mentioned that even the carpeting is the same, he said they thought about switching it out, but decided to wait and keep everything pretty much the same at first.

A make-your-own salad at Dollie's Soup and Salad in Sandy. — *A make-your-own salad at Dollie’s Soup and Salad in Sandy.*

Salad bars were trendy in the late 1970s and ‘80s. They were a welcome addition to pizza parlors and steakhouses, since you could feel more virtuous if you started out your feast with some veggies.

Sizzler rolled out its first Utah salad bar in 1978. Even Wendy’s had a salad bar for awhile. But the trend wilted over the years, and now you’re more likely to see a sushi bar as a salad bar.

Sweet Tomatoes, operating as Souplantation in southern California, was a chain of all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants. The first location opened in 1978 in San Diego, Calif. and grew to over 100 restaurants, but the parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2016, nearly $175 million in debt, and closed some of its locations. The company came out of bankruptcy in 2017, but a few years later, the Covid pandemic hit restaurants hard, and forced the company to shut down for good.

Now you can re-capture the Sweet Tomatoes experience at Dollie’s.

Dollie’s Brings Back the Soup-and-Salad Buffet to Sandy

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