Cava

Leadership

The 2024 Pacesetter Award goes to: Cava

The newly public fast-casual chain Cava has carved out a sweet spot with a fresh and healthful Mediterranean menu with broad appeal. The brand was honored at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Phoenix on Sunday.

Operations

Watch out casual-dining chains, Cava is coming for your guests

The Mediterranean fast casual is planning to enhance restaurant ambiance to make locations more inviting for dine-in. Also steak is coming to the menu.

Now comes the hard work of lapping a strong first year as a public company, but the fast-casual chain is well positioned for more "normalized" growth.

Though Mediterranean cuisine has been growing across the U.S. for decades, the newly public Cava is drawing attention to the fast-casual niche. Here is a look at 8 growing restaurant chains positioned to ride the wave of interest.

Cava, the newly public fast-casual chain called "the next Chipotle" by investors, and Noodles & Co., which held that title a decade ago, just reported two very different quarters that are a study in contrasts—and offer a warning for Cava.

The honeymoon continues for the newly public fast-casual Mediterranean chain, but officials say there are challenges ahead.

After its June IPO, the fast-casual chain came out of the gate strong, with second-quarter traffic up more than 10%.

The Bottom Line: The former CEO of Panera Bread hammered Wall Street for its short-sightedness after his company was sold. His comments were different following the Cava Group IPO last week.

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual Mediterranean chain is the latest to draw enthusiasm from investors hoping they’ve found a company that could come close to Chipotle’s return.

The 263-unit Mediterranean chain plans to reach 1,000 locations across the U.S. by 2032 and sees an opportunity to grow sales with new formats, catering and building loyalty.

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