Good morning. When Cava recently reported second-quarter results, the numbers told a story of a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant defying industry gravity: revenue up 31.3% year over year to $365.4 million, same-restaurant sales up 9% on 5.3% traffic growth, and shares jumping more than 10% in response last week. I also talked with CFO Tricia Tolivar about how the finance organization itself is changing.
As her team prepped for the Aug. 11 earnings call, they leaned on AI tools built into Cava’s proprietary data platforms, Cava Core and Cava Current, to run Q&A preparation and business analysis, Tolivar told me. She sees AI more as a way to make her team sharper and faster as internal advisors. And Tolivar sees opportunities to lean into AI to make the lives of employees on the front line at restaurants easier and streamline processes. “But we believe in human connection,” she added. AI’s job, in her telling, is to clear friction from the restaurant floor, not replace the people running it. Cava plans to hire 2,500 new employees this year even while scaling automation. It’s a distinction worth watching as more consumer brands face pressure to prove AI ROI without downsizing the workforce that drives their hospitality branding. Cava also launched “Flavor Your Future,” a campaign designed to support career growth within the company as it continues its rapid expansion. One of the newest components is an assistant general manager position, Tolivar said. The role, which currently exists in about 70% of the restaurants, aims to build a bigger bench of future general managers and leaders, she said.
Cava opened 17 net new restaurants in Q2. This expansion brought its total footprint to 476 locations nationwide. The company is on track to open a total of 75 new restaurants this year.
I asked Tolivar about prices. Cava raised menu prices just 1.4% to 1.5% at the start of 2026, kept base bowl prices flat, and has undercut CPI by nearly half for several years, she said. “As we move through the rest of the year, we are not anticipating any further price increases at this time,” she added.
Regarding the menu, the chain added salmon this quarter, which Tolivar said met expectations and reinforced Cava’s stake in the seafood side of the Mediterranean diet. Most recently, it rolled out Harissa barbecue pita chips, which she thinks are best dipped in the garlic dressing.
Sheryl Estrada [email protected]
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