The first restaurant was opened in Sunnyvale, California, on El Camino Real in the Cala Shopping center[1] in the space that was once Calaway's Bar and Grill by Martin Culver, Brad Wells, and Ken Oppeltz in 1986.

All restaurants featured 50 foot salad bars, six freshly made soups daily, artisan pizza, and breads.

[2][3] Fresh Choice was enrolled in PG&E's Climate Smart Program, through which Fresh Choice made voluntary charitable contributions that funded greenhouse gas capture and reduction projects to make its Northern California restaurants' energy usage carbon neutral.

[4] Additionally, Fresh Choice sponsored and participated in events such as the 2009 Sacramento Earth Day, California International Marathon and health fairs.

According to the Capitola-Soquel Patch,[6] Fresh Choice planned on re-organizing the restaurants into a new concept of à la carte fare and charging people by weight for their salads.