CAVA, the rapidly expanding fast casual Mediterranean restaurant brand, opened a new location in Los Angeles at 1318 Second St , Santa Monica, bringing their total to six in Southern California, with a further two due to open later this year in USC Village and Mission Viejo.
Cava, which recently announced its Series C funding round of $30m, is planning to open more than 20 new restaurants nationwide in 2017, taking the number of locations to over 40, with L.A. a major focus for the company.
CAVA has proved popular in Southern California, boasting some of the busiest locations on either coast. “We want to make nutritious, delicious food available to everyone, no matter where you live, what you put in your bowl, or how you want to pay,” commented CEO, Brett Schulman. “Customers here seem to love our food and our approach, so we are delighted to be able to bring the CAVA experience to the people living and working in Santa Monica,” he added.
With a new production kitchen in Culver City, and a recent expansion in the distribution of CAVA’s product line of small-batch dips and spreads into more than 30 Whole Foods and other specialty markets in Southern California, CAVA is putting down its roots in the region in a number of ways.
On the opening day at Santa Monica, CAVA will hold a community lunch, a tradition that started with the very first restaurant opening. CAVA will offer free meals between 12pm and 2pm and will be accepting donations to Garden School Foundation, their local non-profit partner, which dedicates itself to education through garden-based learning in outdoor living classrooms.
ABOUT CAVA:
CAVA is a rapidly expanding fast casual restaurant and packaged product brand focusing on a fresh, better-for-you cuisine. CAVA brings modern, authentic, and vibrant Mediterranean food to a national audience in both fast casual and grocery channels through a chef-driven brand.
This beloved Mediterranean-focused restaurant was formed in 2011 by childhood friends Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos, and Executive Chef Dimitri Moshovitis, who had the desire to bring modern, authentic fare to the masses after finding success with their full-service restaurants, Cava Mezze. CEO Brett Schulman helped to translate the full-service restaurant & recipes into this growing, better-for-you, culinary brand.
Founding partner and Executive Chef Dimitri Moshovitis created a customizable menu of over 50 ingredients like their signature Crazy Feta, Border Springs Spicy Lamb Meatballs, and Cauliflower Quinoa Tabbouleh as well as creative rotating seasonal offerings of juices, soups, and roasted vegetables. CAVA is committed to working with best in class food partners including local farmers and artisan producers.
Beyond their fast casual and full service restaurants, CAVA has a product line of small-batch dips and spreads available at over 200 Whole Foods Markets and other specialty grocery stores from coast to coast.
CAVA’s 29 locations can be found in both suburban and urban areas of their home market of Washington D.C.’s metro area (including Maryland and Virginia), Richmond, in New York City’s Union Square, as well as three locations in the Los Angeles area. CAVA has more than 10 additional locations set to open in 2017. For a full list of open and forthcoming locations visit: cava.com/locations
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