Cava, a rapidly expanding fast casual Mediterranean restaurant brand, announced that it will open six new locations in the greater New York City area before the end of 2017. The new restaurant openings will be in both urban and suburban locations including Park Avenue South in Manhattan and Rye Bridge Plaza, Rye Brook. 

Three new restaurants, adding to the existing New York location in Union Square, will be opening in the summer at 30 Montgomery Street, Jersey City; 5 Rye Bridge Plaza, Rye Brook and 325 Park Avenue. These openings will be swiftly followed in the fall by 50 Spring Street, Nolita; Bergen Town Center, Paramus and 129 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut. 

Cava, which recently announced its Series C funding round of $30 million, is planning to open more than 20 new restaurants nationwide in 2017, including five recently opened restaurants in the D.C. and L.A. areas, taking the number of locations to over 40, with New York a major focus for the company in the second half of the year.

Cava’s expansion has been noticeably diverse including high footfall, city center locations as well as suburban restaurants across California, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut and Virginia. Over half of Cava’s restaurants are located in suburban areas, showing there is an incredibly strong demand for nutritious, craveable food that is convenient and quick to order in city centers and suburban areas alike. Cava’s suburban locations uniquely do 20% more dinner business and also have the highest number of guests per check, showing that Cava is not just a preferred quick lunch option for city office workers, but customers see Cava as a restaurant experience. 

“2017 is an incredibly exciting year for us and New York is a huge part of our expansion plans. We love the fact that we will be able to bring the Cava experience to busy Manhattan spots like Park Avenue and Nolita as well as suburban locations such as Rye Brook and Paramus,” says CEO Brett Schulman.

On the opening day at all six locations, Cava will hold a community lunch, a tradition that started with the very first restaurant opening. Cava will offer free lunches and will be accepting donations to Grow to Learn, a citywide school garden initiative, with a mission of introducing a sustainable garden to every school in New York City. Nolita will be a flagship location for Cava in NYC with a private outdoor patio and a mezzanine dining level.