Bloomberg Television · Nov 9, 2026
With Jonathan Neman, Co-Founder and CEO of Sweetgreen
Photo: US Department of Labor, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Sweetgreen's same-store sales grew about 5% in October, after a summer Cyclospora outbreak had cut restaurant traffic across the sector. Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen, told Bloomberg Television's The Close that the outbreak was not linked to his chain, and that sales were flat again by September. A 3% price increase for the fourth quarter has lifted the average check by only 1%, because cheaper items added to the menu pull the average down.
"October, we had about a 5% comp, and we did see a pickup in the beginning of November." — Jonathan Neman
Jonathan co-founded Sweetgreen and still runs it, so the recovery numbers, the pricing data and the plan to win dinner customers all come from inside the company.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 3 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
Same-store sales rose about 5% in October, after a flat September
The gains came from lapsed customers returning, repeat visits and new customers
A 3% price increase produced only a 1% rise in the average check, with no sign customers are pushing back
Sweetgreen's value scores are the best in three years, helped by bigger protein portions
Dinner is the next push, with a relaunched Plates menu built around a larger chicken portion
1. Sales Recovered by October
The Cyclospora outbreak hit the whole restaurant sector over the summer, even though it was not traced to Sweetgreen. Romaine Bostick, co-anchor of The Close, asked how far the chain had come back.
Jonathan Neman says Sweetgreen's same-store sales were flat in September and up about 5% in October
"September, things really started to pick up. We got comped to flat." — Jonathan Neman
"Comp" is the restaurant industry's shorthand for same-store sales, the change at locations open at least a year. The improvement continued into the first days of November.
Jonathan Neman credits customers who had stopped coming for the rebound
"So many of our customers that we hadn't seen in about ninety days have returned." — Jonathan Neman
Returning lapsed customers were one of three drivers he named, alongside more frequent repeat visits and new customers.
