Cava Grill’s mission has always been to showcase the highest quality local ingredients, and the fast-casual restaurant group has just announced the addition of premier quality pasture-raised Virginia lamb from Border Springs Farm to its menu offerings. Appearing on menus of some of the country’s finest and most renowned culinary destinations, such as Sean Brock’s Husk, Linton Hopkins’ Restaurant Eugene, Hugh Acheson’s Five and Ten, Donald Link and Steven Stryjewski’s Cochon Butcher, and Ashley Christensen’s Death and Taxes. Cava Grill is the first fast-casual restaurant to offer the quality protein, now making it available, accessible, and affordable to the masses.
As of today, Cava Grill has made the switch to Border Springs Lamb for its Spicy Lamb Meatballs made with ground lamb, Cava’s own Harissa (part of their product line) and cilantro. This superior quality lamb option will now be available at all 11 Cava Grill locations in the D.C.–Maryland–Virginia area, at under $11 per meal.
Border Springs is a pasture-raised lamb farm nestled in the Virginia foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where its sheep, bred for their sweet fat and rich flavor, graze 100 acres of sweet high sugar grasses. Their pasture-raised lamb is prized by many of the greatest chefs leading the dining scene in the U.S., along with customers who prize sustainable agriculture, from New York City to Philadelphia (where they boast America's only all-lamb shop in the Reading Terminal Market), to Washington, D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina, to name a few. With appreciation for agriculture and a heart for humanity, Border Springs prides themselves in farming "right.”
“Sustainable agriculture requires sustainable consumers,” says Craig Rogers, owner and shepherd of Border Springs Farm. “We cater to the discerning consumer who cares where their food comes from and how it was raised, and Cava Grill’s customer base reflects just that.”
Since opening, Cava Grill has always served high-quality, sustainably raised lamb, “but it came from larger flocks in the mountain states which was being transported at distance,” says Dimitri Moshovitis, cofounder and chef of Cava Grill. “We want to do everything we can to offer the best quality, local lamb for our customers—and with Border Springs’ passion for farming and dedication to sustainability, they really are the best in the industry.” Though use of the lauded protein is often cost-prohibitive for the average fast-casual restaurant, Cava Grill worked with Rogers on the supply chain to reduce costs, and has chosen to absorb the added cost to bring its customer a higher quality product that still works with their business model.
As a local food producer themselves (Cava produces its own dips and spreads sold in Whole Foods Markets, other specialty markets, and available on the Cava Grill menu), Cava Grill is always looking at ways to collaborate with and support other local producers who are experts in their craft, and currently fosters collaborations with artisans like Gordy’s Pickle Jar, Whisked!, Runningbyrd Tea, and now Border Springs Farm.
Border Springs Lamb is now available on Cava Grill’s menu.
