CAVA's same-store sales rose over 9 percent in Q1. CAVA’s leadership believes its success has less to do with bowls and more to do with building a differentiated cuisine category that continues to attract consumers across income levels, markets, and occasions. Speaking at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, CEO Brett Schulman and CFO Tricia Tolivar outlined a growth strategy based on value, hospitality, disciplined pricing, and leadership development as the Mediterranean fast casual pushes beyond 460 locations nationwide. The discussion came as CAVA continues to post some of the strongest results in the restaurant industry. In the first quarter, same-store sales increased 9.7 percent, driven largely by a 6.8 percent increase in traffic. Here’s a look at how the chain’s unit count has grown since the start of 2025: Q1 2025: 382 Q2 2025: 398 Q3 2025: 415 Q4 2025: 439 Q1 2026: 459 READ MORE: Why CAVA Keeps Winning Traffic While Much of Restaurant Industry Slows How CAVA Reached $1 Billion in Revenue Without Chasing Discounts Analyst Sees 2,000 Locations in CAVA’s Ever-Evolving Future For Schulman, the foundation dates back well before the company became a public growth story. Founded from a single full-service restaurant in 2006 by childhood friends Ted Xenohristos and Dimitri Moshovitis, CAVA opened its first fast-casual location in 2011 after spending roughly a year figuring out how to translate its Mediterranean menu into a scalable format. Fifteen years later, the chain operates in 29 states and Washington, D.C. “We truly believe we are building the next…
