D.C-based fast-casual restaurant chain CAVA has filed to go public.
Cava Group Inc. has confidentially submitted a draft registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.
Its filing didn’t include the number of shares that may be offered or a price change. No date for the IPO has yet been set.
Cava was founded in 2006 by three Maryland natives — Dimitri Moshovitis, Ted Xenohristos and Ike Grigoropoulos. It also owns Zoës Kitchen, a restaurant chain it acquired in 2018 for $300 million. It has a total of 7,200 employees now, and more than 300 locations, including about 20 stores in the D.C. area.
Cava raised $230 million in 2021, giving it a valuation of $1.71 billion, according to CNBC.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, Cava had 37% growth in same-store sales in 2021.
Cava relocated its D.C. headquarters from Chinatown last year to City Ridge, the mixed-use, Wegmans-anchored redevelopment of the former Fannie Mae headquarters at 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, Northwest.
In addition to its restaurants, Cava also sells its hummus spreads, tzatziki sauces and other products in thousands of grocery stores. Two years ago, it invested $30 million in a new processing and packaging facility near Staunton, Virginia.
