LA’s Mendocino Farms Will Take Over Palo Alto’s LYFE Kitchen Space

NorCal in name but SoCal in origin, LA-based Mendocino Farms is on a Bay Area expansion tear, with 2019 bringing a Palo Alto location for the chain’s sandwiches, salads, and “deli sides.” A San Francisco location opened in August and San Jose, San Mateo, San Ramon, and Sacramento locations are also in the works, but the latest news is that the Palo Alto “Mendo” outpost will be a familiar one for area consumers of healthy lunch: 167 Hamilton Avenue, formerly LYFE Kitchen.

That restaurant recently closed in Palo Alto, where it’s operated since 2011. LYFE Kitchen, founded by former, apparently reformed McDonald’s executives with celebrity chef backing in the form of Art Smith and Tal Ronnen, has shuttered many of its restaurants in recent years, and the Palo Alto business was actually the first in the chain.

At Hamilton Avenue, the new Mendocino Farms is likely to bear the same, clean, blue-and-white decor as its siblings. Customers can also expect popular items Mendo’s “Not So Fried” Mary’s chicken (and perhaps newer additions like a taco salad with Impossible Foods faux-meat).

Stay tuned for more on Mendo’s serious local expansion plans: For the record, San Francisco’s Mendocino Farms wasn’t the first Bay Area location to open its doors. A Campbell outpost opened to the public last December, with San Jose and San Mateo locations after that.

• LYFE Kitchen Closes in Palo Alto [Palo Alto Online]
• Mendocino Farms moving into Palo Alto’s LYFE Kitchen space [Mercury News]