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"The vibe-y salad-bowl company that has captured millennial hearts nationwide is finally coming to Seattle: its first Seattle-area location will open on Tuesday, January 16 at the Village at Totem Lake mall in Kirkland, followed later this year by locations in South Lake Union and Capitol Hill. Founded in 2007 by a trio of Washington, D.C., business school grads, Sweetgreen quickly expanded (by 2018 it was valued at over $1 billion) and went public in 2021; today it has a market cap of roughly $1.25 billion. It's frequently described as “mission-driven,” aiming to reduce its carbon footprint, donate to food banks, and use local ingredients (in Seattle it will work with suppliers such as Macrina Bakery and Vashon’s Island Spring Organics), and the company has mixed its restaurant roots with a tech mindset—hosting a music festival until 2016 and even expressing hopes to someday have robots in stores. To celebrate the Totem Lake opening there will be a grand opening party on January 16 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with complimentary tote bags, a floral bar, treats from the SweetSide bakery, and a pledge to donate a meal to Northwest Harvest for each meal sold on opening day." - Harry Cheadle