Cava (restaurant) facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast Casual |
| Founded | 2011 (as Cava Mezze) Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Founder | Ted Xenohristos Ike Grigoropoulos Dimitri Moshovitis Brett Schulman |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Number of locations
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133 |
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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Brett Schulman (CEO) |
| Products | Sandwiches Pitas Salads Other food products |
| Revenue |  US$541 million (2021) |
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Number of employees
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8,000 (2021) |
| Parent | Cava Group, Inc. |
Cava (also known as CAVA or Cava Grill) is a popular restaurant chain in the United States. It serves delicious Mediterranean food. Cava is a "fast casual" restaurant. This means you can get your food quickly, but it's usually healthier than fast food. Cava is owned by a company called Cava Group. This company also owns another restaurant chain called Zoës Kitchen. Together, they are the biggest Mediterranean restaurant group in the U.S. Cava also makes dips, spreads, and dressings. You can find these tasty products in grocery stores across the country.
How Cava Started
Cava began in 2006. Three friends, Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos, and Dimitri Moshovitis, opened a restaurant. It was called Cava Mezze and was in Rockville, Maryland. Dimitri was the main chef.
A few years later, in 2008, the friends started selling their dips and spreads. These were sold in over 200 stores, including Whole Foods Market. In 2009, Brett Schulman joined the team. He became the CEO, which means he helps run the company. They opened the first fast-casual Cava restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland, in January 2011. It was first called Cava Mezze Grill, then Cava Grill, and now just Cava.
Cava has been recognized for being a great company. In 2018, Fast Company magazine named Cava one of the world's most innovative companies. This means they are good at coming up with new ideas. Cava also cares about its employees and community. Since 2018, they have given employees paid time off to vote. During the 2020 presidential election, Cava gave free meals to people working at polling places. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cava helped families in need. They had a program called "Feeding Families." For every family meal they sold, they donated another meal to the family of a first responder.
Cava Restaurants and Growth
Cava has grown a lot over the years. In November 2018, Cava Group bought another restaurant chain called Zoës Kitchen. Zoës Kitchen had more than 250 locations. This purchase helped Cava expand into many new areas.
As of August 2021, there were 133 Cava restaurants. All Cava restaurants are owned by the company. They are not franchises, which means you can't buy one to open yourself. In 2020, Cava Group changed seven Zoës Kitchen locations into Cava restaurants. They planned to change 50 more in 2021.
Cava also uses new technology to make ordering easier. They have special kitchens just for online orders. You can pick up your food at the curb. You can also order delivery through their mobile app, website, or other services like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
In November 2021, Cava closed one of its older locations in Washington, D.C.. This was done so they could focus on new ideas and other restaurants.
Cava Group
| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Brett Schulman |
| Headquarters | Irving, Texas, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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391 (January 2022) |
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Key people
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Brett Schulman (CEO) |
| Revenue | US$881 million (2021) |
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Number of employees
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12,200 (2019) |
| Subsidiaries |
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Cava Group, Inc. is the main company that owns Cava and Zoës Kitchen. Brett Schulman started the Cava Group in 2011. Like Cava, the Cava Group was also named one of the world's 50 most innovative companies by Fast Company in 2018.
