“I feel very good about our position as the category defining brand and clear leader,” said Schulman, in an interview with Restaurant Business on Wednesday. “Most people are now going to have to adapt to what we’re doing and what we’re defining, because we are defining the category.” Chipotle recently invested in a six-unit Mediterranean chain out of Ohio called Brassica, which could bring a new player into the sandbox. But Schulman dismissed the move with a shrug. “It’s a great validation of Mediterranean as the next major cultural cuisine category,” he said. It will be some time before any other Mediterranean player comes close in unit count, which is a benefit Cava will likely enjoy for some time. “What we’ve seen over history is a pattern of winner-take- all dynamics,” Schulman said. “That the best in breed tends to create outsized performance and ownership of the category.” He points to the more than 3,600-unit Chipotle, for example, with nearly $10 billion in annual revenue, while secondary Mexican- inspired fast-casual players Moe’s Southwest Grill and Qdoba have not reached $1 billion in revenue. Likewise, he pointed to Panera Bread, back in the day when Ron Shaich was running the company. At the time, the next closest competitor was Corner Bakery, which ended up filing for bankruptcy. (Shaich, it should be noted, is chairman of Cava’s board and has been a considerable force in shaping the Mediterranean chain’s growth trajectory.) Here’s how Cava expects to maintain its best-in-breed status: It has plenty of room for (mea- sured) growth: Cava expects to open as many as 58 restaurants this year, and unit growth is expected to continue next year at a rate of about 17%, all company owned. Schul- man has a goal of reaching 1,000 units domestically by 2032. That’s not a destination, he notes, but just
Fundamentally, are coming to Cava because the food is delicious, healthful and convenient, and they feel it’s a good value for their money, he contends. And in the world of hummus, falafel and addictive pita chips, Cava is riding a wave as the clear category leader. Cava ended the third quarter with 352 units. The next largest Mediterranean concept is the (franchised) Taziki’s Mediterranean Café, which is scheduled to open its 100th unit next week in Texas. guests
visits to the Mediterranean chain grew during the third quarter by 27.5%, while visits within fast casual more broadly increased only 2.2%. Year over year, visits per location to Cava grew 9.9%, Placer.ai said. And those visitors represented an ever-widening customer base, from younger singles with lower incomes to “ultra-wealthy families.” In reporting third-quarter results on Tuesday, Cava CEO Brett Schulman said, “Mediterranean is meeting the moment.”
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JANUARY 2025 RESTAURANT BUSINESS
PHOTO: ENVATO
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