Cava focuses on suburban growth as pandemic changes consumer trends

Guess who is moving to the suburbs now?

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered several trends that will change the restaurant space, even after vaccines have been widely administered and life returns to a new normal. From the migration from dense cities to the suburbs, to a greater reliance on digital order for pickup, patio and delivery, the space continues to evolve, and the Mediterranean chain Cava is engaged in all of the above.

The parent of the restaurant, Cava Group, acquired Zoe’s Kitchen in late 2018 and took the company private. The group said its new real estate portfolio of 288 stores enables it to expand faster into new suburban markets, as it could turn the Zoe’s into a Cava location in half the time it takes to get a open brand new restaurant – and at a lower cost. .

Last year, the Washington-based company did seven conversions of Zoe’s locations and there are 12 in development for 2021. About 80% of Cava’s sites are in suburban markets.

“We see the ability to unlock significant revenue growth in Zoe’s real estate when we convert it to a Cava location,” Schulman said. As a private company, Cava does not report its annual revenue in public.

Brava Schulman, CEO of Breta Schulman, says Cava, which also has a business that sells consumer-packaged goods that sell dips and spreads to Whole Foods and other specialty markets, focuses on lunch after dinner.

“If you are serving a suburban customer, whether a family or a couple or singles living in the suburbs, [you need] to be relevant to their needs during lunch and dinner. “I think it’s very important if you’re in suburbia, ” he said.

Cava is not the only chain that wants to look to the suburbs. Chipotle has achieved success with its ‘Chipotlanes’, driveways reserved for mobile orders, and sees a greater chance of building them in suburban and rural communities, the company said. The burrito chain expects about 70% of its new stores to have these jobs this year.

Shack Shack recently said in its earnings report that Shacks perform better in the suburbs than those in the cities. And Starbucks is expanding its drive-through portfolio in the coming years as it includes some performing venues and opens smaller pickup stores in cities and drive-thrus in suburbs.

Cava also has second digital and outdoor kitchens in every restaurant dedicated to preparing food for online orders, something Chipotle has become known for because the digital business has blown up.

Schulman said Cava’s digital revenue grew 140% year-on-year, with 30% of total revenue coming from digital channels that did not exist before Covid.

“I think it was one of the things we could do, which we call ‘digital agility’ in Covid. We have an in-house engineering team and the capabilities have enabled us to set up the channels quickly and thus create access. points based on the needs of Covid consumers, ”he said.

And the brand is poised to return to on-site dining later this year, but Schulman expects it will help bolster the consumer experience everywhere – on-site and online.

“We’ve really focused on hospitality, it’s a core aspect of our brand, and people who have this involvement walk with our team members. [in stores] and the merging of those physical and digital channels. Whether you want to connect through our digital channels or through our physical channels, that hospitality is at the heart of it, ‘he said.