Cava is the first restaurant brand to file for an IPO in 2023, after a slow 2022; its valuation has not yet been determined.
Washington, DC-based Mediterranean concept Cava has confidentially filed for an IPO. The price range or total number of shares have not yet been determined, the company noted in a press release.
The company acquired fellow Mediterranean concept Zoe’s Kitchen in 2018 and began converting those locations in new suburban markets to ramp up its national footprint. Cava currently operates about 330 restaurants in 24 states.
In 2021, a year of tremendous growth for Cava — with 63% unit growth, $168.2 million in same-store sales and 37% same-store sales growth — the brand received a round of Series F funding in the amount of $190 million to help convert even more Zoës units to Cava.
Cava has long prioritized the digital part of its business, which has kept the chain somewhat insulated in recent years. Prior to the pandemic, Cava already had off-premise, digital kitchens and was expanding into mobile-order-ahead drive-thru lanes, for instance.
Last year was relatively slow for IPOs and several restaurant companies put their plans to go public on hold until the economy showed more certainty. Much of the same has been predicted for the beginning half of this year, though activity is expected to ramp up as inflation cools and interest rates stabilize. We are starting to see early signs of both.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
