Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman told Axios' Dan Primack during a virtual event on Tuesday that he does not regret returning the $10 million Paycheck Protection Program loan the company qualified for, even as it furloughed nearly 2,000 employees amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The big picture: He said the salad chain has "been able to get back a lot of our business and, I think, in a weird way, we’re very well-positioned for the other side of this" as it has seen an acceleration in all delivery channels — with pickup orders leading the way.
- The company has used the pandemic to examine expanding delivery and carryout orders, specifically through its own platform.
Why it matters: Sweetgreen is reopening its restaurants and has brought back more than half of the furloughed employees, leading Neman to say he's confident it will be able to bring the rest back soon.
