As more restaurant chains expand drive-thru service and turn order-taking over to kiosks and bots, some customers yearn for a little old-school hospitality.
The nation’s hottest restaurant chain has moved smoothly into that gap. Benefiting from the healthy image of Mediterranean food in general, Cava has grown into the biggest Mediterranean-style operator in the country. While other chains struggle to hold onto customers, Cava is posting double-digit percentage gains in year-over-year customer traffic.
CEO Brett Schulman attributes the brand’s popularity to its emphasis on hospitality. As most chains move toward stark, tech-influenced store designs, Cava has begun a program called Project Soul to add plants and pillows to its restaurant decor. Each store has a “Love Button” on cash registers, which enables employees to reduce customers’ bills if they notice they’re having a bad day or see them being kind to others.
“We are focused on creating the authentic human connections consumers are hungry for,” Schulman told analysts recently. He sees “a void growing in that lack of human connection … [and] people crave it.”
Cava has shielded its fans from the worst sticker shock by holding price increases to 12% between 2019 and 2023, compared to 30% industrywide. Also, the chain’s fresh, colorful roasted vegetables, hummus, and sauces make Cava’s DIY bowls and wraps highly photogenic for Instagram.
Founded in 2006 in Rockville, Maryland, by three first-generation Greek-American owners, the chain’s recent hot streak has led some industry observers to call it “the next Chipotle.” Cava’s build-your-own menu items and savvy use of social media have driven some noteworthy successes. Hefty profit margins of 25.6% at the restaurant level have helped make Cava a Wall Street hit, despite its relatively small footprint of 352 restaurants. Since its initial public offering at $22 per share in June 2023, the chain’s stock price has risen more than fourfold.
Management credits its most recent gains to a new loyalty program and a new flavor of a customer favorite, Garlic Ranch Pita Chips. The chain also has been quick to fill gaps in its menu, adding Mediterranean-spiced steak last year to fill a perceived protein gap.
