Brett Schulman, Ike Grigoropoulos, Dimitri Moshovitis, and Ted Xenohristos based Cava in 2011 to share the “Mediterranean Means” of consuming with others in an accessible fast-casual format.
Cava
The primary Cava restaurant opened in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2011.
Nancy Luna
Cava’s setup is perhaps acquainted if you happen to’ve visited Chipotle. It is a walk-along ordering system, the place two to a few workers put together your order alongside a prep line.
Nancy Luna
With many substances out there, there are infinite decisions for customizing the proper bowl or pita.
Nancy Luna
Final month, Cava proprietor Cava Group, introduced plans to go public by submitting a confidential draft of its S-1 prospectus with regulatory authorities.
Cava
The IPO market has slowed down over the previous yr. However, Cava joins just a few different chains trying to go public, together with Panera Bread and the proprietor of the Brazilian steakhouse of Fogo de Chão, based on the Wall Avenue Journal.
Scott Olson/Getty Photos
Supply: Wall Avenue Journal
Cava operates 260 fast-casual eating places in 22 states and Washington DC. Every restaurant’s common yearly gross sales is $1 million.
Cava
In 2018, Cava Group purchased Zoës Kitchen in a deal valued at $300 million. The corporate took the publicly-traded Zoës personal and started rebranding shops as Cava.
Fb/Zöe’s Kitchen
Supply: Insider
CAVA has since sunsetted the Zoës model. As of March 2, Cava Group doesn’t function any Zoës Kitchen places.
zoeskitchen.com/screengrab
In addition to constructing their very own bowl or pita, clients can choose from considered one of 10 signature meal decisions.
Nancy Luna
The bowls have 9 base decisions: black lentils, saffron basmati rice, brown rice, RightRice, arugula, a Supergreens of mix of lettuces, child spinach, Splendidgreens (a mixture of chopped romaine, radicchio, escarole, chicory endive, and cabbage).
Nancy Luna
We tried the Hen and RightRice bowl as a result of I wished to match the RightRice to Chipotle’s cauliflower rice. It had the feel and look of short-grain rice and was hands-down a lot superior as a base than Chipotle’s mushy cauliflower rice.
Nancy Luna
Cava serves pita chips with dips and toppings. Selections embody roasted eggplant, loopy feta, hummus, harissa, tzatziki, and crimson pepper hummus. The pita chips, cooked in-house every day in small batches, are crunchy however not as oily as tortilla chips.
Nancy Luna
Different CAVA restaurant dips and spreads bought at Complete Meals embody the roasted crimson pepper hummus, tzatziki, loopy feta, harissa, roasted eggplant dip, lemon herb tahini dressing, and yogurt dill dressing.
Mary Meisenzahl/Insider
The spicy lamb meatball, spicy hen, and falafel pitas have been all finger-licking messy, and loopy scrumptious. I particularly preferred the spicy topping and dressing decisions of the Skhug sauce, a mixture of jalapeños, cilantro and lemon juice; and the Sizzling Harissa French dressing. The acid and warmth combo made for taste bomb bites.
Nancy Luna
Cava sells Maine Root fountain sodas and bottled drinks. The Portland, Maine beverage firm makes sodas reminiscent of root beer and Mexican cola from 100% natural sugar cane.
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