Cava (stylized as CAVA), also referred to as Cava Grill, is a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

fast casual restaurant A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, is a restaurant that does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast-food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is a ...

chain with locations across the United States. Cava is owned by the publicly traded Cava Group, which purchased

Zoës Kitchen Zoës Kitchen was a Mediterranean cuisine, Mediterranean Style restaurant Chain store, chain, and a subsidiary of the Cava Group. Their headquarters were located in Plano, Texas, Plano, Texas. In 2013, the chain had grown to host over 200 locati ...

in August 2018. The combined company is the largest restaurant operator in the Mediterranean category in the U.S. restaurant industry. Cava also produces a line of Mediterranean dips, spreads, and dressings that are sold in grocery stores across the US. As of May 2023, all Zoës Kitchen restaurants have been closed or replaced by Cava restaurants.

History

In 2006, first-generation

Greek Americans Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greeks, Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 p ...

Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos, and Dimitri Moshovitis launched the full-service Cava Mezze restaurant in Rockville,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, with Moshovitis as executive chef. In 2008, Xenohristos, Grigoropoulos, and Moshovitis partnered with Geoff Maites and Kenny Maites to launch a line of dips and spreads, and grew the product line into over 200 stores, including

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from Hydrogenated fat, hydrogenated fats and artificia ...

. In 2009, Brett Schulman joined them as CEO and co-founder of the fast-casual chain Cava (originally called Cava Mezze Grill, later rebranded as Cava Grill and then simply as Cava). They opened the first Cava restaurant in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, in January 2011. In August 2018, Zoës was acquired by Cava Group, Inc. for $300 million in total enterprise value. In April 2021, Cava Group completed a $190 million series F funding round led by T. Rowe Price, bringing its value to nearly $1.3 billion. Since 2015, the company has raised more than $640 million. By December 2022, the Cava Group had significantly reduced the number of Zoe's Kitchen locations. As of May 2023, all Zoe's Kitchen restaurants had closed, and many had been replaced by Cava restaurants. On June 15, 2023, Cava made its public debut on the NYSE under the symbol CAVA.

Restaurants and expansion

In November 2018, Cava Group bought

, a restaurant chain with more than 250 locations, in a deal worth $300 million, taking the company private and helping Cava expand further into the suburbs. As of August 2021, there were 133 Cava locations. All Cava restaurants are company-owned, and none are franchised. In 2020, Cava Group converted seven of its Zoës Kitchen locations to Cava-branded restaurants, with plans to convert 50 more in 2021. It has additional off-premises and digital kitchens dedicated to preparing food for online orders. As of April 2025, there are 382 Cava locations.

References

External links

* {{S&P 400 companies 2011 establishments in Maryland 2023 initial public offerings American companies established in 2011 restaurants in Washington, D.C. Restaurants in Maryland Companies in the S&P 400 Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Dips (food) Fast casual restaurants Mediterranean restaurants in the United States Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 2011 Spreads (food)