TV Restaurants

What Happened to Pea Soup Andersen's After Food Paradise? (Buellton, CA)

Food Paradise, Season 1 Buellton, California Closed January 2024

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Pea Soup Andersen's has closed — confirmed via santamariasun.com, July 16, 2026.

What the source shows: The Santa Maria Sun reported on July 16, 2026 that the Buellton City Council voted 5-0 on July 9, 2026 to remove the closed Pea Soup Andersen's restaurant building's historic landmark status, clearing the way for demolition. The separately owned Pea Soup Andersen's Inn next door says on its own website that the restaurant closed for redevelopment. How we decide a status →

What happened after Food Paradise?

The episode featured Pea Soup Andersen's in Buellton, a highway-stop restaurant famous for its pea soup and complete home-style meals, along with an attached bakery, gift shop, and hotel. The original Buellton location opened in 1924, according to Wikipedia, and the chain later added a second restaurant in Santa Nella in 1976, with additional locations operating in Carlsbad, Mammoth Lakes, and Selma during the 1980s. According to Wikipedia, last revised 2026-07-14, the Buellton restaurant closed in January 2024 for redevelopment, leaving the Santa Nella location as the only Pea Soup Andersen's restaurant still serving pea soup. The Buellton property's own website, checked 2026-09-08, now advertises only hotel rooms under the Pea Soup Andersen's Inn name, with no restaurant or menu listed.

The episode Food Paradise, Season 1

Episode 9
Air date not confirmed
Title: All You Can Eat Paradise · What was featured: the restaurant's signature pea soup and home-style meals
How Food Paradise restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 1 Food Paradise

Season 1: 85 of 114 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 15 Season 1 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 51 E Hwy 246

All 892 TV restaurants in California →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 2 references

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_Soup_Andersen%27s
  2. peasoupandersens.com https://peasoupandersens.com/
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Record fp-0071 · checked by Cal Marchetti.