 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast Casual |
| Founded | 2006; 20 years ago (2006) (as Cava Mezze) in Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 382 (2025) |
Area served | United States |
Key people |
|
| Revenue |  US$954 million[2] (2024) |
Number of employees | c. 11,000[2] (2024) |
| Website | cava |
Cava (stylized asCAVA), also referred to asCava Grill, is an AmericanMediterraneanfast casual restaurant chain with locations across the United States. Cava is owned by the publicly traded Cava Group, which purchasedZoës Kitchen in August 2018.[3][4] The combined company is the largest restaurant operator in the Mediterranean category in the U.S. restaurant industry.[5] Cava also produces a line of Mediterranean dips, spreads, and dressings that are sold in grocery stores across the US.[3][6] As of May 2023, all Zoës Kitchen restaurants have been closed or replaced by Cava restaurants.
In 2006, first-generationGreek Americans Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos, and Dimitri Moshovitis launched the full-service Cava Mezze restaurant inRockville,Maryland, with Moshovitis as executive chef.[3][6][7] 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, includingWhole Foods Market.[8][9][10] 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).[7][9][11] They opened the first Cava restaurant inBethesda, Maryland, in January 2011.[9][12]
In August 2018, Zoës was acquired by Cava Group, Inc. for $300 million in total enterprise value.[13]
In April 2021, Cava Group completed a $190 million series F funding round led byT. Rowe Price, bringing its value to nearly $1.3 billion.[14] Since 2015, the company has raised more than $640 million.[15]
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 As of May 2023, all Zoe's Kitchen restaurants had closed, and many had been replaced by Cava restaurants.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.[16]
In November 2018, Cava Group boughtZoës Kitchen, 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.[6][17][18]
As of August 2021, there were 133 Cava locations. All Cava restaurants are company-owned, and none are franchised.[6] In 2020, Cava Group converted seven of its Zoës Kitchen locations to Cava-branded restaurants, with plans to convert 50 more in 2021.[14][15][18] It has additional off-premises and digital kitchens dedicated to preparing food for online orders.[18] As of April 2025, there are 382 Cava locations.[19]
