D.C.-Based Cava Has Four Boston Locations Planned for 2018

A spread at Cava, a fast-casual Mediterranean concept opening four locations near Boston in 2018. / Photo provided

Boston’s cup runneth over with health-focused, fast-casual restaurants. Cava (stylized as CAVA), a Washington, D.C.-based Mediterranean brand, announced today plans to open four Massachusetts locations in 2018, beginning with Fenway in January. Suburban outposts in Hingham and Dedham will follow, with Back Bay opening before the end of the year.

Cava offers a customizable menu of salads, grain bowls, soups, pitas, and more, with seasonal ingredients, locally raised and farmed when possible. Dips and spreads are part of its scratch-made repertoire, and Cava also sells packaged versions at more than 200 Whole Foods locations, and other specialty shops.

The company started in 2011. The Boston expansion is part of nationwide growth for the company. By the end of the first quarter of 2018, Cava will have 55 locations in 10 states.

“Boston is a tech savvy community known for its education, innovation and passion for food,” Cava CEO Brett Schulman says in a press release. “We believe that food shouldn’t be a flat routine, but instead part of a bold lifestyle, so we’re delighted to share the vibrant flavors of CAVA and the convenience of our intuitive digital ordering experience with the adventurous food lovers of Boston.”

The Fenway location is the final retail lease for Skanska USA’s new building, the Harlo, where Tatte and Oath Craft Pizza are also headed. It will have seats for 39. The Back Bay location, near the Marathon finish line—and right near Boston’s first Sweetgreen—will seat 42, and feature an outdoor patio. The Dedham and Hingham locations will be at Legacy Place and the Derby Street Shoppes, respectively. All locations plan to be open daily from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Cava joins a plethora of health-focused, fast-casual brands proliferating in Boston, especially around quickly developing areas like the Fenway. Other-city imports By Chloe, Dig Inn, Honeygrow, and more have started Boston expansions, and homegrown brands including Bon Me, Clover, Saloniki, and others continue to grow. In 2018, we’ll get another Pita, a new concept with national aspirations called Grainmaker, and certainly others.

It’s a tradition for Cava to buy lunch for their neighbors the day before its restaurants open, so stay tuned for opening day details.

Cava, coming to 1350 Boylston St., Fenway, 667 Boylston St., Back Bay, 680 Legacy Pl., Dedham, and 98 Derby St., Hingham, in 2018, cava.com.