Cava (stylized as CAVA), also referred to as Cava Grill, is a Mediterranean fast casual restaurant chain with locations across the United States. Cava is owned by the publicly traded Cava Group, which purchased Zoës 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sold in grocery stores across the US.^[3][6] As of May 2023, all Zoe's Kitchen restaurants have been closed; many have been replaced by Cava restaurants.

Quick Facts Company type, Traded as ...

Cava

Company type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: CAVA
Industry	Restaurants
Genre	Fast Casual
Founded	2006; 18 years ago (2006) (as Cava Mezze) Rockville, Maryland, U.S.
Founders	Ted Xenohristos Ike Grigoropoulos Dimitri Moshovitis Brett Schulman
Headquarters	Washington, D.C. , United States
Number of locations	309[1] (2023)
Area served	United States
Key people	Ted Xenohristos (Chief Concept Officer) Brett Schulman (CEO)[2]
Revenue	US$729 million[1] (2023)
Number of employees	c. 8,100[1] (2023)
Parent	Cava Group, Inc.
Website	cava.com

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In 2006, first-generation Greek Americans Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos, and Dimitri Moshovitis launched the full-service Cava Mezze restaurant in Rockville, 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, including Whole 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 in Bethesda, 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 by T. Rowe Price, bringing its value to nearly $1.3 billion.^[14] Since 2015, the company has raised more than $640 million.^[15]

By December of 2022, the Cava Group had significantly reduced the number of Zoe's Kitchen locations. As of May 2023, all Zoe's Kitchen restaurants have been closed; many have been replaced by Cava restaurants.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 bought Zoës 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 are 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]