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.
2 companies on Ferret
Cava
Dining · 459+ locations — Two of Cava's three Greek-American founders still shape the food at this 459-location chain. But a $1.4M settlement with NYC over Fair Workweek scheduling findings sits on the labor record, affecting roughly 1,200 workers.
Tatte Bakery & Café
Coffee · 53+ locations — People assume this is a beloved Boston bakery still run by its founder. Since 2016, former Panera CEO Ron Shaich has held majority control through his investment firm, and Tzurit Or now oversees food and design rather than the business itself.