Cava
Mediterranean fast casual chain · 459+ locations · TX, NY, CA, VA, MD, and 24 other states + DC
Two of Cava's three Greek-American founders still shape the food at this 450-plus-location chain. Separately, the company paid $1.4M to settle NYC findings that it violated Fair Workweek scheduling law, affecting roughly 1,200 workers.
The Big Picture
Two of Cava's three Greek-American founders still shape the menu and concept nearly twenty years in, and the CEO has been there since 2009 — rare continuity for a chain of this size. That continuity doesn't extend to labor practices: a $1.4M settlement with NYC in 2024 over Fair Workweek scheduling findings affected about 1,200 workers at nine locations, plus 2022 restitution over the firing of a worker who took protected sick leave. Publicly traded with 94% institutional ownership and no founder voting control, Cava answers to its shareholders — and its growth pace, 75 new locations a year, is set by them.
The Dirty Details
Ownership
Act III HoldingsFamily Office
Act III Holdings is the personal investment firm of Ron Shaich, Panera Bread's founder and former CEO, who uses it to take founder-friendly stakes in fast-casual and bakery-café brands he believes can scale nationally. It backed Cava's 2018 acquisition of Zoë's Kitchen and remains a pre-IPO investor there, with Shaich chairing Cava's board; it also previously owned Clover Food Lab.
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Company data last updated July 2026
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