CAVA has made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2023, with its IPO priced at $22 per share, valuing the company at $2.5 billion. This morning, the stock has soared to $115+ ($124 at noon) after CAVA beat Wall Street’s estimates for its quarterly earnings and revenue.
CAVA CEO Brett Schulman spoke with CNBC about Q2 results, pricing strategies, and growth outlook, and was asked about the original full-service Cava Mezze that started it all and is still going strong in the Traville Village center in Rockville. Prior to Schilman joining, the company was started by three Montgomery County natives and has since become the largest restaurant operator in the Mediterranean category in the U.S. restaurant industry.
In 2006, first-generation Greek Americans Ted Xenohristos (Paint Branch High School), Ike Grigoropoulos (Gaithersburg High School), and Dimitri Moshovitis (Quince Orchard High School) launched the full-service Cava Mezze restaurant in the Traville Gateway shopping center (Rockville), with Moshovitis as executive chef. Following the launch of four additional restaurants, in 2008, Xenohristos, Grigoropoulos, and Moshovitis launched a line of dips and spreads to over 200 stores, including Whole Foods Market. In 2009, Brett Schulman joined them as CEO and co-founder of the fast-casual chain CAVA (originally called Cava Mezze Grill, later rebranded as Cava Grill and then simply as CAVA). The group opened the first CAVA restaurant in Bethesda in January 2011.