SoCal’s Vanished Experiences from 2020–2023

The other day, I was driving down Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa, California and passed by the old Souplantation location, just off of the 125. That sport was one of my favorite buffet locations, along the one in Misson Valley on Mission Gorge Road. In that moment, I was caught off guard with nostalgia, and my tummy started to rumble too. I could still see the hazed outline of where the Souplantation sign used to hang and found myself thinking about how often I used to get to one of their locations. If Souplantation was still with us today, it would have been so simple to park, walk in, and grab a plate… then go back for seconds (and thirds), sitting down with friends or family without a second thought.

Then it really hit me: It’s just gone, gone forever, and not to come back…

That split second has stuck with me longer than I expected. It wasn’t just about missing a buffet or two that I used to frequent, I started thinking about everything else we lost during the years of 2020 to 2023, and what might still be experiencing the impact of those years. The human loss was treacherous during the pandemic, and yet we lost more than people during that time.

The Disappearing Everyday

Before 2020, California life was built on shared experiences that we barely noticed and perhaps took for granted at the time:

  • Crowded restaurants with long wait times
  • Casual gatherings that didn’t require planning
  • Amusement parks with new and exciting rides
  • Theme parks with long queues and international visitors
  • Packed live music venues
  • Browsing stores without limits or worry
  • Community events that brought people together naturally
  • Buffets at all the local casinos

When COVID-19 hit… and with it, California’s regulations, shutdowns, and safety measures many of our everyday moments changed almost overnight. Some things eventually came back, others didn’t, and even the ones that did often feel different.

Small Businesses: The Backbone that Bent and Sometimes Broke

Restaurants and Cafés

Souplantation wasn’t the only loss we experienced, it was just the trigger for me to write. It was one of the most visible symbols because of the number of locations and the amount of time it had been a part of our lives. Behind it were thousands of other businesses and hot spots that quietly disappeared as fans’ hearts and stomachs ached from the loss.

Restaurants had to adapt really quickly… They set up outdoor dining areas, added dividers between tables/booths, takeout rapidly became the norms, they reduced wait staff, and yet not all one of the locations could make it work. Margins in the industry were already thin, and months of restrictions pushed many locations into the red and ultimately to permanent closure.

Restaurants Gone by the Wayside

Small Retail Stores Faced a Perfect Storm

Neighborhood staples vanished and places people had been going to for years, sometimes decades, closed without fanfare. Even loyal customer bases weren’t always enough to keep them alive.

  • Lockdowns forced prolonged closures
  • Online competition surged
  • Foot traffic disappeared

Mom-n-Pop Shops that Closed

Entertainment and Community Spaces

Theaters, music venues, and local gathering spots went dark with shows canceled. For some, reopening never happened and the experiences never got rebooked. These weren’t just businesses for many, they were places where people connected, celebrated, and built memories together. Their absence left a noticeable gap for people just like you and I.

Local Hot Spots Shuttered

The Corporate Shift

At the same time, the pandemic reshaped how companies operated. With remote work becoming standard, some businesses began to rethink their California footprint entirely. Combined with high operating costs, high taxes, increases in minimum wages, and regulatory pressures, this led to many:

  • Companies downsizing local offices
  • Headquarters relocating out of state
  • Shifting toward distributed workforces
  • Assigning remote work while paring down their physical offices

The pandemic didn’t cause all of these changes, but it definitely accelerated them.

What Changed and What Might Still Change

By 2023, California started to feel more alive again and yet, it wasn’t the same version of what came before.

We gained:

  • Outdoor dining as a permanent feature
  • More flexible work lifestyles
  • Convenience-driven habits

But we also lost something harder to define, which is community, the assumption that certain places would always be there. That raises a bigger questions:

  • What else could still go?
  • What is still feeling the impact?
  • Has everything recovered?

Holding Onto What Matters

What we lost wasn’t just economic, it was deeply personal to many, if not most. Every closed or relocated business had:

  • Owners who poured years into creating something
  • Employees who depended on those jobs
  • Customers who saw those places as part of their routine

Places like Souplantation weren’t just about the food on each plate, they were about familiarity, comfort, and shared experience. Driving past that empty Souplantation wasn’t just a moment of nostalgia for me, it was a reminder. A reminder that the places we love aren’t guaranteed to be around next year or even tomorrow.

This is also a cue that local businesses matter more than we sometimes realize. That community spaces need our support to survive or thrive. Maybe the biggest takeaway is that the things that feel permanent often aren’t. If anything, the past few years have shown us how important it is to appreciate, and actively support, the experiences and places that bring people together.

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