Each Cava location is worth $33 million

Watching the cult-classic Mediterranean fast-casual spot Cava soar in popularity is the 52-year-old CEO and co-founder. The chain’s stock has increased by more than 300 percent since its IPO last summer; in late September, it reached a new high of $128 per share.

It took a while for the huge success to happen. Schulman met his future partners after an unsuccessful but short-lived career in finance, which included a brief stint in consumer packaged goods. Together, they developed the Cava from a single sit-down restaurant, Cava Mezze, in a suburb of Washington, D.C. B.

The process was driven by a few core principles that were upheld from the start, including giving food heart, health, and humanity and caring for both the workers (above minimum wage pay, long before other chains caught up) and the customers (no preservatives). They even have a unique “love button,” which automatically awards a customer with a complimentary meal when pressed by a cashier. (Of course, used responsibly. ).

In a Fortune interview, Schulman discusses his first job washing cars, his difficult transition following the perilous acquisition of a different chain, how often he eats Cava every week, and if there’s a trick to getting the ideal bowl.

For clarity, the following has been slightly rewritten and condensed.

Describe your past for us.

I grew up not far from Philadelphia where I was born. In his line of work, my father was given the chance to invest in and join a car dealership in Bethesda, Maryland. After packing up, we relocated to Maryland just in time for me to start high school.

During my teenage years, I worked at a variety of jobs, including landscaping, mulch sales, and firewood cutting and selling. However, I worked as a car wash attendant for about $6 or $7 per hour in my very first job.

I knew no one when I started high school. Making new friends and creating a new life for myself in Washington, D.C. was something I had to learn to do. After high school, I moved to Arizona to begin college. However, I found that to be a bit too far, so I ended up returning and eventually transferring to the University of Maryland, where I received my degree.

I originally majored in criminology and criminal justice at the University of Maryland. I believed that my goal was to attend law school and practice law. I did an internship at a law firm during my senior year of college, but I quickly realized that wasn’t the right fit for me. After deciding what to do next, I was able to secure an internship at Alex Brown, an investment bank. After graduating, I was able to use that internship to secure a full-time position. After a while, I started trading stocks.

I adored the world of finance. Both thrilling and enjoyable. When the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed in 1997, it opened the door for commercial and investment banks to collaborate and merge, leading to a wide range of mergers within the sector.

Consequently, Bankers Trust acquired our company, Alex Brown, and Bankers Trust was subsequently acquired by Deutsche Bank. Our group leader said, “Everything’s going really well,” a year ago. We won’t attempt to repair it. We are going to part ways with you all. You’re working really hard. The announcement that “We’re moving you all to New York” followed two weeks later. “.

Actually, I was residing in the headquarters city of Baltimore, Maryland, at the time. That was the first time I truly started to consider the possibility that I might want to try something new. I believed that everything would be very predictable and that I would rise through the ranks. Something abruptly and drastically changed. It is unlikely that Cava would have existed if Glass-Steagall had not been overturned.

That’s when I started planning our next course of action. I got to know Mary, my wife, who had always eaten incredibly healthily. Our desire to pursue something more entrepreneurial after thinking about quitting our jobs in 2004 really materialized when we founded a natural snack food company.

Snikiddy Snacks was the name of the business. The concept of healthier snack options for children was the main driving force behind it, as we had recently begun our family. We essentially just created it, went and found co-manufacturers to produce the products, and cold-called Whole Foods Market and other retailers to get distribution because we had a small daughter at the time and Mary was going to give birth to our second child, our younger daughter. We thus began expanding that enterprise.

Though there was always some uphill work, we had some success. We appointed a gentleman as our CEO. I held the position of chief operating officer at the time. Mary handled all of the sales and marketing while I oversaw all of our manufacturing, logistics, and shipping to all of our retail partners. Thus, it was quite complimentary.

A few years later, as we were expanding that business (I hadn’t planned to do that full-time), I decided to change my approach, and at the time, our CEO and I hadn’t agreed on every aspect of the plan. I made the decision to take matters into my own hands and worked out what that would entail.

I think I’ve heard of Cava Mezze, a restaurant. My college friend said, Hey, will you talk to my cousin Ted Xenohristos? They have a restaurant called Cava Mezze. They mentioned that they had teamed up with a client to sell their spreads and dips at a few nearby Whole Foods Markets. I acknowledged that the hummus was indeed in our refrigerator. I said yes when he asked if I could talk to Whole Foods about how we could help them since I knew they were working with you.

During our meeting, Ted and Ike [Grigoropoulos], my other co-founder, discussed the difficulties they were facing in running that company. At that time, Cava Mezze, a full-service restaurant, had just opened in 2006 with the help of my partners Ted, Ike, and Chef Dimitri [Moshovitis]. Our brand really started out of their desire to interpret their family’s history and food from a contemporary American perspective, which was realized in that restaurant.

In the Maryland town of Rockville, Cava Mezze is still in operation. Along with partnering with a customer to sell these spreads and dips at a few local Whole Foods Markets, they were preparing to open their second full-service restaurant. But that company was having trouble.

They asked for my advice, saying they were concentrating on the full-service restaurants. I then offered them some guidance, and we decided to keep in touch. When I made the decision to try something different, which was about two months later, I gave Ted another call. He replied, “Not well, but what are you doing?” to which I replied, “Well, I’m thinking about what I’m doing next.”. He continued, “You know we’re focused on our two full-service restaurants, so why don’t you come on board? Would you want to consult for us and help us fix this business? Yes, I replied.

I had a lot of faith in the products—the feta tzatziki and the hummus. I therefore had the opportunity to take over and turn the company around, making it profitable in the process, and I got along well with the guys. I said, “Well, that’s a great offer, let me talk to my wife, Mary.” They said, “Brett, why don’t you become our fourth partner?”.

Since I was curious about their inner workings, Mary and I decided to go have dinner at that other full-service restaurant. We kept our plans a secret from the guys. And it was really amazing what I witnessed. How joyfully their staff was working, how delicious the food was, and—above all—how wonderful we felt following our meal.

That night, I told the guys I was in when I returned to them. Let’s collaborate together. Nevertheless, Chef Dimitri embraced the idea when I asked, “Have you ever thought about taking what we do in full-service and in the grocery stores and kind of combining it and bringing this amazing Mediterranean cuisine to a larger audience in a fast health-based format?”.

The Walk the Line format was finally chosen after we spent nearly a year figuring out how that food would be transformed from a full-service, made-to-order format into a quick format. We ultimately decided on the Walk the Line format for three reasons, which I will list in order of significance.

First off, even though there was a long line, we like the idea that you knew you got your food when you got to the register because we can be a little impatient. You weren’t waiting for your name to be called or for a buzzer to go off. But above all, the power of personalization. You can create over 17 billion combinations with our 38 ingredients on the line, tailoring them to your unique requirements and tastes. We also thought that as time went on, personalization would become a much bigger trend.

Thirdly, and above all, the Walk the Line operating model gives us access to a highly efficient production model. It reminds me of the former Henry Ford production line, if you can imagine that. We are able to invest in the quality of our food by taking advantage of the extremely efficient labor productivity it permits. We always felt that we were going to succeed with our high-quality food that we were already serving in the full-service restaurants, or the ingredients we were using in that crazy feta tzatziki that we were selling at Whole Foods Markets.

So we took a chance. I will never forget: We gathered a number of people at the original Rockville restaurant, which had been closed for lunch one day. The guys had been getting a lot of inquiries about investing in a new full-service restaurant. You know, this isn’t going to be a full-service restaurant, but here’s our idea, we said, presenting our idea and mocking up the food. We aim to validate this theory by opening two or three. Thus, in the summer of 2010, we raised funds from friends and family, and in January of 2011, we launched our first fast-casual restaurant. Now, in twenty-five states and the District of Columbia, there are more than 340 restaurants in operation.

Have you ever wanted to work as a CEO?

No, I never really considered myself to be a CEO. But I knew I wanted to create something different when I was employed in finance for a big company. My sense of unfulfillment prompted me to consider that I wanted to be more creative or create something that would help and uplift others, in addition to having a bigger impact than I was making in that career. That, I believe, is what ultimately inspired me to pursue entrepreneurship.

Every day, we share this with our team. You shouldn’t press the snooze button on Monday morning. We want you to wake up eager to have an influence. Instead of just providing jobs for my team members, I wanted to establish a career development program. That ultimately led, I believe, to the position I hold now, where I assist in spearheading those initiatives, fostering that kind of atmosphere, and having that kind of an influence.

How did you advance from being Cava Mezze’s fourth partner to CEO?

Ted makes light of the situation by joking, “You know, we hired ourselves a boss.”. Coincidentally, Mary and I carried out that action at the snack food business. Since we lacked actual industry experience or knowledge, we appointed ourselves a boss. Ted and the guys must have realized that our philosophical philosophies aligned. We wanted to present ourselves and develop the business in a way that was consistent with how we saw the world.

Our skill sets ended up being a great fit, and I believe they appreciated my enthusiasm for some of the business’s facets that they weren’t as keen on. We all found ourselves with complementary skill sets, whether it be in the culinary side, which Ted works on, the concept side, which Ike loved, or the operations side, which Chef Dimitri most definitely loved. And they requested that I assume the CEO’s role.

Does Snikiddy Snacks exist anymore?

Back in 2014, it was purchased by the potato chip company Utz. In a similar vein to veggie straws, we were baking veggie fries and baked puffs. The line of healthier cookies was formerly included, but it was dropped. The baked puffs and vegetable straws were the main attractions.

Have you ever had moments as an entrepreneur when you felt like you wouldn’t succeed?

Every single time. I like to say that running your own business is a lot like riding a roller coaster. We’ve looked into the abyss a few times at Cava and survived to tell about it. The lesson that you learn more from your adversity than from your success is, in my opinion, extremely significant. And it’s those times that put you to the test and truly teach you how to get over those obstacles. Great results usually follow if you can get past those obstacles.

Every Cava location is currently valued at approximately $33 million, according to a recent estimate by Bloomberg. What do you think contributed to that success?

We don’t pay much attention to such metrics, but I believe that our success is largely the result of everything we’ve done: how we’ve invested in our team, in our guests and the guest experience, and in our deliberate efforts to develop this business in a way that will allow it to grow sustainably while still providing value to both our guests and our team members.

Even our choice of operating model, the Walk the Line format, gave us the freedom to present the food in the way we wanted to at an appealing price and value. It also helps that we have always paid our team members.

Our national starting wage was raised to $13 per hour in 2016, which was significantly more than what the majority of states were requiring at the time. Even the competitors we faced were paying $9 or $10 per hour. Obviously, since then, wages have increased significantly, and even now, we pay top dollar in most markets rather than just the headline wage. We invest in team-member benefits. Regardless of whether they are enrolled in our health plans or not, we will provide mental health benefits to all team members and their families starting in 2021.

We also make investments in our visitors. In addition to the food quality I mentioned earlier, we don’t seem to be passing along price increases as much as some of our competitors. We have recently entered a period of high inflation. We increased prices by approximately 12 percent from the end of 2019 to the end of 2023. Growth in the CPI was 18%. Numerous fast-food companies have increased wages by up to 30 percent, according to the Labor Department. More precisely, AB-1228 was a law passed in California that mandated chains of a particular size, like us, to pay a minimum wage of $20 or more.

Since we were already paying almost what those [new requirements] required, we didn’t have to make up as much ground as some others did. We decided not to pass on the additional costs to our customers, though, and instead raised our wages even more.

As a consequence of that legislation, we were the only limited-service brand that did not increase prices. Everything sort of comes together to discuss how we see expanding our company. Investing in our team and guests will ultimately lead to great financial results and success, so it really comes down to that.

With your IPO, the value of Cava stock has increased by 300 percent. What do you believe has been the primary driver behind that expansion?

The evening before the IPO, I informed the team that this was not the end point. With the knowledge that stock prices will fluctuate daily, this marked the start of the next chapter of our journey. However, if we keep our attention on our strategic plan, our mission to bring heart, health, and humanity to food, as well as our ongoing curiosity, generosity, and passion for positivism, then our stock performance will follow. Once more, that is an outcome of everything we do and the way we look after our staff and visitors. Not the next ten weeks or ten months, but the next ten years and beyond are the goals for which we are building this company.

I am not sure whether you are aware, but Ron Shaich, the founder of Panera Bread, recently became a billionaire through his investment in Cava. Is there ever any communication between you and Ron?

Yes, we text each other almost daily. I think it’s a good metaphor that Ron uses to describe himself as “Sherpa Capital.”. Ron had ascended the quickly informal mountain structure Panera. An incredibly large-scale business. As someone who has traveled the same path as us, he is aware of potential dangers and places to avoid making mistakes. Having that viewpoint and experience at our disposal is really helpful as we go through our own journey.

In addition to our monthly scheduled meeting, Ron and I communicate via text on a regular basis, which has been really beneficial to my functioning as a CEO. As a CEO, I have had to reimagine myself four times. I used to be the founder and CEO of a startup. I was a CEO for growth back then. Next, the CEO of a startup. Back then, I was the CEO of a private company. In 2018, we acquired a business named Zoe’s Kitchen. That was three times our size at the time, so I went from managing about 70 restaurants as a company to nearly 300 restaurants in a single night. It is an entirely different company to oversee.

Having that guidance at my current public company as an enterprise CEO has been beneficial, particularly at the enterprise level where Ron possesses extensive experience managing such a large organization.

Briefly describe the acquisition of Zoe’s Kitchen.

My hair turned all gray because of it. In 2018, this extremely rare opportunity was presented to us. At the time, a public company named Zoe’s Kitchen was facing numerous difficulties, and our investor and chairman, Ron Shaich, had been contacted by them.

Cava boasted about fifty-five restaurants. We had been on a straight growth trajectory and planned to open roughly 29 new restaurants that year. “Hey, would you be interested if we got our investors together and acquired this company, and gave this company to you and your management team? They want to engineer a turnaround,” Ron said to me that spring. Although I don’t think they can accomplish that, this might be a novel strategy to propel Cava. “.

Upon reflection, I became interested in two of our real theses. One was that Zoe’s owned real estate in the Sun Belt, a significant portion of the country we were attempting to penetrate. And that was in the year 2018. Demographic shifts in favor of the Sun Belt were already apparent. Furthermore, we observed that eighty percent of Cava’s restaurants were already situated in suburban areas, and we were getting positive feedback and strong sales there. Zoe’s entire real estate holdings consisted of 100 percent suburban and 100 percent Sunbelt properties. In light of our goal to grow, this was a perfect complement to our current real estate footprint.

In certain comparable locations where we operated Cavas, Zoe’s restaurants accounted for approximately 50% of our total income. We believed there was a chance to increase revenue significantly if we converted it to a Cava.

Subsequently, the second main thesis posited that in our industry, scale would become increasingly significant, with technology playing a pivotal role in dividing the sector into those with and without resources. Those that have the relevant resources to invest in technologies to create differentiated guest experiences, as well as the operational insights to compete in a modern business environment versus those who are relegated to more out-of-the-box, commoditized solutions—as well as being able to have the scale to withstand the cost and labor pressure inflation we’ve seen in recent years—that’s all played out.

When we finally made the decision to buy the company, the state of Zoe’s business wasn’t what we had anticipated.

It was about a week after we had taken over, and I will never forget it. Our team of leaders made a visit. We held regional town halls with each of our Zoe’s operators to better understand the state of the company and its challenges. This allowed us to maintain stable operations while preparing the locations for conversion to Cavas.

While traveling from one regional town hall to another by plane, I received an email informing me that Zoe’s same-restaurant sales had dropped by 12%, a noteworthy decrease. That came as a little surprise. Not exactly how I had anticipated it. I also recall saying, “Okay, we have to stabilize this,” to my co-founders the following day. We need to prioritize this matter. Therefore, we essentially tried to firefight that business for the next six months in an effort to stabilize it. Additionally, it diverted some of our focus from Cava.

Indeed, it was a pivotal point in our history and journey when we decided to truly persevere and keep trying to figure out how we were going to overcome our circumstances rather than become their victims. Our eight years of excellent work building Cava was not going to be undone by this. Thus, I believe that the most important lesson was learned at a pivotal point when we were essentially just attempting to hold the line.

Ron and I got together and decided to spend the day strategically planning how to move the business in a positive direction. I met with some of my board members. After we had been whiteboarding for four or five hours, they said, “Brett, you’re doing everything everywhere.”. What are the five most important things that will act as a catalyst to turn this around, and which five will actually change the course of events?

That is why we combined it into five main segments. Afterward, they issued me another challenge. Brett, you can only be leading one or two of those, they said. To guide those others, who else can you trust?

It all comes down to focussing and simplifying, in my opinion. After we combined that, came up with our five pillars, and decided who would lead them, that essentially served as my elevator pitch to the company. Here are the five things we’re working on, I would tell the team on Monday. Come talk to me if you’re not working on one of those; there’s an issue. When we gave the team that kind of clear focus and direction, it was amazing to watch the business turn around from the bottom up.

After a gradual period, we were positively comping at Zoe’s for the first time since we purchased the brand in January 2020. Cava was positively comping double digits at that point. The brand had not performed well since 2017. The same occurred in both February and March. The six struggling Zoe’s Kitchens in Denver, Colorado, were to be converted to Cavas as part of a market conversion project. After completing a very successful single restaurant conversion in the fall of 2019, we planned to undertake a market conversion. However, the pandemic struck in the first week of March while we were in Denver preparing to open.

I simply recall telling the team, “Hey, listen, let’s face it—we don’t deserve to be here.”. We simply kind of stared into the chasm and emerged from it. However, we are aware of what counts. This is something we can overcome. Additionally, during the pandemic, we will prioritize contactless ordering, guest safety, and team member safety. It all comes down to focus and simplification, which helped us get through Zoe’s difficulties and eventually enabled us to successfully navigate the pandemic.

What is the number of Zoes you have effectively converted?

Zoe’s had almost three times our number of restaurants when we purchased it. It was known that approximately two-thirds of the real estate portfolio was classified as strategic and needed to be converted, while the remaining one-third was considered non-strategic. Therefore, we either let those leases expire on their own accord or came to an agreement with the landlord to vacate the property. In the end, we converted about 170 of Zoe’s locations to Cavas, which significantly aided in our expansion. Additionally, it enabled us to make a significant impression in a region of the nation where we were sincerely attempting to establish Cava.

Do you wish you hadn’t bought Zoe’s?

Not at all. The results of our thesis have been as anticipated. We may have made a mistake at the time because of how distressed the business was, in my opinion. However, we once more gained a great deal of knowledge, and our ability to triumph over that difficulty eventually led to our current level of success.

Morale was rather low because we had acquired a challenged company, Zoe’s, along with a much larger organization that had experienced a force reduction earlier in the year. Additionally, the combined business at Cava was now a completely different entity from what it had been when it was a struggling, larger company that we had purchased. This confused our more startup-growth organization. Many people on the Cava team expressed a desire to leave the large-scale organization, and there were also those on the Zoe’s team who were unwilling to take on the upcoming transformation challenge. As a result, many of them left. Prior to that acquisition, Cava had a fantastic culture; however, as people began to leave, the culture faced significant challenges.

At that point, we had experienced a great deal of success, and now we were facing hardship. We had never experienced anything like this before; it was all new to us. After the pandemic and the Great Resignation, a lot of people started to relocate across the nation. And it presented a serious cultural challenge.

The business was feeling it, too. And it breaks your heart to experience that kind of cultural challenge in the workplace, especially since we built it ourselves prior to Zoe’s acquisition and it was a source of great pride. As a result, I had the good fortune to find and bring on Kelly Costanza, a woman, to be my chief people officer. She has been with me for more than four years, and during that time we have discussed this as well as our plans to return to the energy and culture we had before the acquisition.

We therefore made the decision to start what we refer to as our employee net promoter score, or ENPs, in 2021. As with many other aspects of the business, we began to measure the health of our culture as well. After we received all of the data back, we were able to identify the majority of the areas in which we had received extremely low scores. We became aware that we were going to leave and emerge as a new collective as we worked through Zoe’s conversions. We also needed to give this new collective its own mission, values, and competencies as a new organization.

Thus, we really put pen to paper and considered how our original mission and values needed to change to fit this new collective. As a result, they are now an integral part of our culture. Next, we drafted the launch strategy and disseminated it across the organization. We improved those scores from terrible ratings to top-decile and top-quartile ratings by the end of 2022. The organization seemed to be coming together.

It was very deliberate and required a great deal of work. Nothing was set in stone and left undone. I believe that is yet another lesson that needs to be learned: especially at our scale, you have to keep working at this and reinforce it every day throughout the entire business.

How do you mentally prepare for the day and what is your morning routine like?

When I wake up, I make an effort not to check my phone. I make an effort to not jump on the screen right away and to let my mind adjust to the day. After that, I begin examining the sales and data from the day before. Every morning, I check that.

Usually, I work out four times a week. Healthy body, healthy mind—I like to say that you have to look after yourself before you can look after others. I give it a lot of thought. I start working as a barista in our home after working out. Before our daughter leaves for school, I make coffee for my wife and our other daughter. I’m able to ground myself and spend a little quality time before heading into the office. After that, I perused a variety of publications to gain an understanding of current events and potential changes from the previous day.

In actuality, how often do you eat at Cava?

Every four days, roughly. My family actually grows a little irritated with me because I frequently eat it for lunch. Our office is located five minutes’ walk from a Cava. Hence, if I’m at work, I usually eat Cava. Because there are so many different flavors available, there are days when I will have lunch and dinner in one meal.

These days, processed foods are being resisted by a large number of people. What is Cava’s reaction to that? Have you made any changes?

One of the fundamental components of our vertically integrated business, in my opinion, is [our ingredients]. There are now two sizable production facilities here. In Verona, Virginia, we recently opened our second location. The area is 55,000 square feet. To be able to distribute this high-quality, minimally processed food at scale throughout the nation, we have made significant investments in very special fresh production capabilities.

Whereas many other co-manufacturers may use powdered or dried ingredients, we use fresh dill, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and fresh cucumber to make 9,000–10,000-pound batches of tzatziki in our facility. We believed that this was necessary in order to regularly provide high-quality, economically sound Mediterranean cuisine at a large scale throughout the nation.

What is your favorite Cava dish?

I usually have two at a time, and that fluctuates, probably every six months or so. Along with our chefs, including Chef Dimitri, my partner Ted Xenochristos leads our team dedicated to culinary innovation and creates and launches innovative new products. I must thus always try them.

We just launched steak, so today’s bowl has saffron basmati rice as the base and arugula as the topping. After that, I have a scoop each of hummus and crazy feta—I can’t get enough of that. I then get half chicken with honey and harissa and half steak, which is a nice balance. Subsequently, I will add a variety of toppings, such as our spicy broccoli, roasted corn, pickled onions, feta crumbles, pita crisps for crunch, and finally, tahini Caesar or lemon herb tahini. However, I’ll stick with our fiery harissa vinaigrette if I want it really spicy.

Have you previously held a job at a Cava restaurant?

Yeah, I put in a lot of work on the line in the beginning. Nevertheless, as we’ve grown, we’ve taken two steps to ensure that we remain linked to the company. We refer to it as shoulder-to-shoulder among all members of our corporate team. You must work a shoulder-to-shoulder shift in a restaurant for at least four hours every quarter. One is coming up, mine is the current one. I’m heading to work in our restaurant in Laurel, Maryland.

It serves as a means for us to stay in touch with our team members as well as to learn about what’s going on with our guests and operations directly from the front lines. It frequently serves as a very inspiring source. A quarterly visit to specific markets across the nation is another activity that the executive leadership team engages in.

Consequently, we traveled to see our teams this quarter in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee. We have the chance to reconnect with our teams and acknowledge them at the same time. After celebrating them, we all go out to team dinners. Because we’re attempting to run restaurants throughout 25 states as well as the District of Columbia and continue to grow, having a distributed workforce is crucial. Maintaining communication and understanding of our frontline team members’ needs is essential if we are to improve the guest experience by learning about their challenges, opportunities, and ways to make their lives easier.

What, in your opinion, distinguishes Cava from its rivals?

It’s our food, first of all. We consider ourselves to be authentically Mediterranean, and we believe we are establishing the next major cultural cuisine category—one that will spread Mediterranean cuisine throughout the nation and—once more—this special cuisine that unites health and flavor. Tastes are changing as our nation becomes more and more diverse. They come here for our food because they want it to have stronger, more intriguing flavors. You match that with a desire and interest in contemporary perspectives on food and wellness. And that’s where our food actually meets that need and finds a solution.

The second facet of our brand is our Mediterranean hospitality, which comes in second. You know, Ted said something when I first met the guys that has always stayed with me. Our belief is that we are not in the restaurant business, he stated. Our industry is hospitality. And that direct human connection is what’s at play here. We want you to experience that when you visit our restaurants, so even on our digital channels, we ask, “How do we deliver that hospitality, whether digitally or physically?” We hope you do.

There’s been some talk about our “love button” on TikTok, which is one of the things we’ve noticed. We’ve done this since opening our first restaurant, and it reflects the giving spirit of our brand, as we enable our team members to donate a few meals to others each shift. There’s a chance that the guest they’re seeing is experiencing a particularly difficult day. Alternatively, there might be a frequent visitor. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude.

Alternatively, a visitor may be attempting to use mobile pay because they forgot their wallet or their phone died. We get to declare, “Hey, this is on us.”. Our guests found great resonance in that seemingly insignificant act of kindness, and it is greatly appreciated. You sharing a meal with us is a manifestation of our generosity. We want you to experience the same warmth and hospitality that we’ve extended to you at our table. We believe that this sets us apart, especially when paired with our specially prepared dishes.

Do you know when that began, or has it always been like that?

With our first restaurant, we initiated that. The credit line at the bottom of the check will have the word “love” next to it if you are one of the recipients of the love button. Ever since our inception, it has been an enjoyable activity for us. That idea was mine and the guys’.

Social media users are calling Cava the next Chipotle. What do you think about that?

That’s great praise, in my opinion. Chipotle has established a fantastic company. As of right now, I believe there are 3,500 restaurants nationwide. Compared to us, that is a far larger scale. However, we concentrate on aiming to be the greatest Cava or the following Cava. And yet again, I believe that our cuisine is something truly special. We do, of course, operate very similarly to Chipotle in terms of the Walk the Line format, but our main goal is to introduce Mediterranean to people all over the nation.

Do you believe Cava consistently serves large portions?

It’s true that we work on it every day. No, I don’t believe they are the same at every restaurant. Is that something we want them to be? Absolutely, and we work on that with our teams every day. We want to make sure that, regardless of how many ingredients they order—nine or fifteen—they feel like their bowl is just as voluminous. That could be difficult for our group to handle. What resources can we provide them with, then, to ensure that everything is as uniform as possible across the nation and that our visitors experience the generosity that is at the heart of what makes our brand so wonderful?

The large portion size of Cava bowls often leads to people discussing on Tiktok how they only finish half of them and save the other half for a second meal. We’re concentrating a lot on that because we don’t want anyone to feel undervalued. Together with our team, we educate our guests on how our format operates and how to make sure they receive a sufficient portion.

What guidance would you give recent college graduates or those in their 20s who want to start a profitable business?

Determine your strengths rather than just what you love to do. Discover your strengths, as these will ultimately be the things you enjoy doing. It’s more enjoyable to succeed at something. You have greater fervor for it. Thus, experiment with various approaches. Recognize your areas of success or strength naturally. And never forget that everyone would be doing it if it was that simple.

Being an entrepreneur is challenging. . A strong emotional resilience is a prerequisite for becoming an entrepreneur. Adversity will befall you. You will face difficulties. I mentioned earlier that at Cava, we looked into the abyss a few times. To be able to ultimately realize the vision you’re trying to build, you have to possess that tenacity and resolve. When you can overcome those obstacles with other people, it can be immensely enjoyable and fulfilling.

That, in my opinion, is the other important consideration: since you can only go so far on your own, it is important to surround yourself with positive people as you travel.

What’s the best advise you’ve ever had on business?

Since we were still establishing the company, it was most likely halfway through our journey. I mentioned earlier that I had to reinvent myself as a CEO four times. I believe that part of my ability to succeed through these stages of change, or my ability to reinvent myself, was the concept of “right people, right roles,” or making sure that the people you are asking to do are actually capable of achieving the goals you have set for them. That eventually simplifies your life and adds a ton of value to the company. However, those headwinds will be felt if that alignment isn’t there. It will be really challenging and a struggle. That’s what I think Ron [Shaich] told me.

Are there any other CEOs or business executives that you particularly admire?

Yes, there are a lot. I aim to pick up tips from all business executives. I think there are a lot of amazing business leaders out there, and I’m constantly attempting to learn from them and how they apply their practices to their companies. We’ve been lucky to have a lot of excellent investors and mentors at our boardroom table. A man by the name of Fred Schaufeld, one of our other investors, founded NEW, a business that later merged with Asurion, a company that handled electronics warranty work.

Throughout our journey together, Fred has provided me with invaluable guidance and mentorship. He is an entrepreneur at heart. He ultimately assisted in guiding me to the solutions I arrived at when we were dealing with incredibly tough, difficult situations. He was there for me when I needed help and encouragement in locating the solution.

Nowadays, the Mediterranean diet is thought to be especially healthful.

Yes, for the seventh consecutive year, the Mediterranean diet is the top diet recommendation. It’s more of a way of life, in my opinion, than a diet. Eating whole foods in moderation and foods that are both extremely satiating and high in nutritional value is the idea. Legumes, such as chickpeas and Greek yogurt, are not only incredibly tasty but also help you feel fuller and reduce the need to snack in between meals. Our favorite saying is that you don’t need a snack or a nap after Cava. You don’t feel overly burdened by it. It stops you from getting hungry before your next meal. It’s very significant, in my opinion.

Along with being a way of life, the Mediterranean diet also relates to our hospitality and that sense of community-based human interaction, as I mentioned earlier. I believe that as more people become aware of the advantages of consuming this food, its popularity will only grow. You’re consuming incredibly flavorful, filling food that also happens to be healthier for you. You are not required to give up anything or make any concessions. You are also free to choose what you want based on your preferences and tastes as you move down our line.

Do you think Cava’s prices will rise anytime soon?

We do not intend to raise prices for the remainder of 2024.

What are your thoughts on work-life balance? Do you believe that you have successfully achieved work-life balance?

Regarding work-life balance, I do have some opinions. It seems to be a misleading term. I’ve been telling our team this for years. I believe that life exists, and that the work you do either enhances or diminishes your quality of life. That relates to something I said before. We want people who are passionate about what they do at Cava to find fulfillment in their work, both personally and professionally. If that’s not why we want our team to hit the snooze button every Monday, we need to know why they won’t get up to accomplish the work they’re doing and fulfill our mission of bringing heart, health, and humanity to food.

What trick do you use to create the ideal bowl or pita wrap?

Cava’s over 17 billion combination possibilities are what make it so beautiful. Thus, what constitutes the ideal bowl for me may not be the same as what constitutes the ideal bowl for you or for anyone else. That’s what makes it so amazing. We simply adore the fervor with which people pursue their own unique blend. We also love that we can cater to the needs of a wide range of individuals. One of the things we’re most proud of is our extremely diverse customer base, which reflects that. You can see a wide range of people who can be satisfied and who enjoy our food when you enter our dining rooms, which is ideal.