Cava is valued at $35M per restaurant

In an industry that often leans on the franchise model, Cava is forging ahead with its company-operated strategy, in a similar vein to Chipotle, which owns and operates all but 1 of its 3,500+ stores. So, why such a high price tag for a Mediterranean salad chain?

Well, investors are generally happy to pay up for two things: profits today or profits tomorrow. Cava promises more of the latter, with its revenue surging 30% last quarter and ambitious plans to open 1,000 new locations over the next decade, with a portion including higher-margin digital drive-thrus.

Expectations will be high for the company’s Q2 earnings on Thursday.

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