Cava CFO on growth, AI and why price hikes aren’t on the agenda

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.