Sweetgreen's spot in the Lakewood Shopping Center is closing for good on Thursday, capping a four-year run at the corner of Gaston Avenue and Abrams Parkway. The salad chain's staff will clock out one last time after a shortened final shift, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., before the doors shut permanently.
Staff confirmed the closure to the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate, saying the shutdown is happening for business reasons. Workers from the Lakewood store won't be out of a job, though — they're being transferred to Sweetgreen's Snider Plaza location near SMU and its West Village location in Uptown.
The closure stings for at least one employee, who lamented no longer being able to walk to work once the Lakewood doors close, according to the same report. Staff also used the moment to thank the Lakewood community for its support over the years.
A Short Life in a Well-Traveled Space
This particular stretch of Gaston Avenue has seen plenty of restaurant turnover. Sweetgreen moved into the space in 2022, taking over a spot previously occupied by Dixie House, Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen and Kozy Kitchen, the Advocate's earlier coverage noted. The chain celebrated its grand opening there on Aug. 23, 2022, arriving amid what the publication described at the time as an influx of healthy, fast-casual chains in the neighborhood, alongside newcomers like Cava, Crisp & Green and Salad and Go.
Less than four and a half years later, the Lakewood store joins a growing list of Sweetgreen locations shutting their doors. The chain's Deep Ellum restaurant at 2614 Main St. lasted less than a year, closing in December after opening in February 2022, according to CultureMap Dallas. A company representative offered no explanation for that shutter at the time, the outlet reported.
Part of a Wider Pullback
The Lakewood closure also fits into a broader pattern at the national chain. Sweetgreen CFO Jamie McConnell has said the company plans to close a handful of locations in 2026 as leases expire, while reviewing additional underperforming restaurants that could still shut down, per TheStreet. The chain already shuttered three restaurants in 2025 as their leases neared expiration, with more closures expected this year, the outlet reported.
Sweetgreen has also confirmed the permanent closure of its Crystal City restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, after a decade serving that area, TheStreet noted. The company's financial pressures were evident in its fourth-quarter 2025 numbers, with revenue down 3.5% year over year to $155.2 million and same-store sales falling 11.5%, according to the same report.
Dallas's broader restaurant scene has had a rough stretch too. The Dallas Observer counted six Dallas restaurant closures in October alone, including the end of Knife Italian's two-year run at the Ritz-Carlton in Las Colinas on Oct. 6. Chef John Tesar told the publication that the restaurant industry is oversaturated and will see a recession, a grim outlook that looms over Lakewood's latest farewell.
