# Mendocino Farms

> Mendocino Farms is a privately held premium fast-casual restaurant company that serves chef-crafted sandwiches, salads, sides and catering. Founded in downtown Los Angeles in 2005, it competes between quick-service convenience and casual-dining quality, using seasonal menu development, dietary flexibility, elevated hospitality and a strong office-catering offer to turn a familiar lunch into a repeatable consumer brand. The chain opened its 100th restaurant in Santa Barbara in July 2026.

- **Founded:** 2005
- **Headquarters:** El Segundo, United States
- **Founders:** Mario Del Pero (Co-founder), Ellen Chen (Co-founder)
- **Team size:** Approximately 1,200 employees; LinkedIn lists 1,001-5,000 employees
- **Products:** Chef-crafted sandwiches, Creative salads and grain-forward entrées, Sides, soups and beverages, Catering, Digital ordering and loyalty
- **Notable:** Opened its first restaurant in downtown Los Angeles in 2005., Became Whole Foods Market's first restaurant-brand investment in 2015., Expanded from 16 restaurants at the time of TPG Growth's 2017 majority investment to 100 restaurants by July 2026.

## Products & services

- **Chef-crafted sandwiches** — Core and rotating sandwiches built around familiar formats, premium ingredients and distinctive global flavor combinations.
- **Creative salads and grain-forward entrées** — Large-format salads and bowls with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-aware options, nutrition information and customization.
- **Sides, soups and beverages** — Deli-style sides, seasonal soups, desserts and house beverages designed to complete dine-in, takeout and group orders.
- **Catering** — Boxed lunches, platters, group spreads, delivery, setup guidance and dedicated catering specialists for offices and events.
- **Digital ordering and loyalty** — Pickup, delivery, group ordering, app and eClub tools that reduce ordering friction and support repeat visits.
- **Community fundraising** — Approved organizations can host in-store, online or catering fundraisers and receive 20% of qualifying event sales.

## Achievements

- Opened its first restaurant in downtown Los Angeles in 2005.
- Became Whole Foods Market's first restaurant-brand investment in 2015.
- Expanded from 16 restaurants at the time of TPG Growth's 2017 majority investment to 100 restaurants by July 2026.
- Opened the 100th location in Santa Barbara, California, in July 2026.
- Grew 2025 sales by 20.1% and unit count by 22.2%, according to Technomic Ignite data reported by Nation's Restaurant News.
- More than doubled its restaurant count from 2021 to 2026.
- Expanded into Chicago, Denver, Austin and Scottsdale during the year preceding its 100th-store milestone.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Opened its 100th restaurant at 3851 State Street in Santa Barbara, California.
- **2026-06** — Launched the summer 'Adventure Tastes Like This' menu with three dishes developed by executive chef Jeremy Bringardner.
- **2026-05** — Nation's Restaurant News reported roughly 100 locations, 20.1% sales growth and 22.2% unit growth in 2025, with plans for 16 openings in 2026 and 18 in 2027.
- **2026-02** — Introduced the spring 'Come Graze a While' seasonal menu.
- **2025-12** — Marked its 20th anniversary with more than 80 locations and a throwback menu promotion.
- **2025-12** — Announced Alicia Mowder as chief marketing officer after she joined the company in October 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://www.mendocinofarms.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mendocino-farms
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mendocinofarms
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mendocinofarms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MendocinoFarms
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mendocinofarms

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/mendocino-farms
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-14