Good Earth Express Closes Its Doors; Overhead Cited

SAN DIEGO — The Good Earth Express, which opened in downtown San Diego last summer as a healthy but just-as-quick alternative to better known fast-food eateries, will close its doors today, the victim of high overhead and sagging profits.

“We’re not making enough (money) to make it profitable,” acknowledged Colleen Callahan, area supervisor of the Good Earth, which operates nearly four dozen full-service restaurants throughout the country, including ones in La Jolla, Oceanside and La Mesa.

Although “sales are tremendous and the concept is great,” Callahan said the rent in the restaurant’s storefront in the Spreckels Building at Second and Broadway is “too high.” The Express opened last August, targeting the health-conscious adult seeking an alternative to typical fast-food fare. Officials at the time hoped to expand the concept nationwide.

Another Good Earth Express is operating in Altamonte Springs, Fla., headquarters of Creative Dining, the General Mills subsidiary that is Good Earth’s parent.

A Good Earth Express in San Francisco closed last year, also the victim of too much overhead, Callahan said.

The closing, she added, has “nothing to do” with General Mills’ well-publicized attempts to sell or spin off some operations, including its Good Earth restaurant chain, its fashion division and its toy group.