Ted Xenohristos, Cava co-founder and chief concept officer, visits the chain’s new location at 1484 N. Milwaukee Ave. on Wednesday.
Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times
Nearly 20 years after opening in Maryland and expanding to more than 300 locations, Cava finally will enter the Midwest market on Friday with its first restaurant in Chicago.
The fast-casual Mediterranean eatery will open its doors in Wicker Park at 1484 N. Milwaukee Ave. Daily hours are 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Co-founder and chief concept officer Ted Xenohristos and the Cava team visited the restaurant Wednesday, and announced that a second area location would be coming to 890 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Vernon Hills this summer. On Thursday, the Wicker Park restaurant will provide free meals to the public for a sold-out “community day,” and match donations up to $1,000 for Dion’s Chicago Dream, a local nonprofit combating food insecurity.
Xenohristos cited Chicago’s Greek population, customer demand and the performance of Cava’s dips and spreads in Illinois Whole Foods Markets as reasons for setting up shop in the city.
“The Greek community has been hounding me to open,” Xenohristos said. “And then on our social media, it’s one of the most-requested cities that we see. We’ve always been excited to get here.”
Upon entering the 3,100-square-foot location, patrons will immediately notice Chicago artist Alyssa Low’s colorful mural featuring the Chicago flag, Lake Michigan and the Robey Chicago hotel. The 30-seat dining area also features tables with round corners, cushioned booths and soft lighting — hallmarks of Cava’s new restaurant design called “Project Soul.”
But the real draw is the food, which includes chef-curated or build-your-own pitas, salads and bowls presented buffet-style. In line, customers can choose from a variety of entrees, dips, toppings and dressings.
A popular choice is the Harissa Avocado bowl, featuring harissa honey chicken and hot harissa vinaigrette. But patrons can also choose meals featuring braised lamb, spicy lamb meatballs, grilled chicken, falafel or veggies.
Cava also offers several juices, including Strawberry Citrus, Cucumber Mint Lime and Blueberry Lavender.
“We’re trying to define what it means to be Mediterranean,” Xenohristos said. “For me, it’s quality of food, and it’s tasty food that’s also healthy for you.”
The offerings are inspired by Xenohristos’ childhood; his father is from a small village in southern Greece, and his mother is from Cyprus.
“I grew up very Greek,” Xenohristos said. “The first time I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was in college. My mom would make me spanakopita and send me to school with Greek food. I was always kind of embarrassed about it and didn’t really understand it. As I grew older, I really started to have a passion for Greek food and restaurants.”
When Xenohristos and partners Ike Grigoropoulos and Chef Dimitri Moshovitis opened the full-service Cava Mezze restaurant in Maryland in 2006, they bought furniture from Target, took orders on sticky notes and wore shirts with the phonetic pronunciations of the ingredients.
Since then, Mediterranean food has grown much more popular in the United States, Xenohristos said.
“You couldn’t find a hummus brand in a grocery store when we opened the first restaurant,” he added. “Now, there’s millions of different hummus flavors that you see.”
Cava has flourished while meeting the demand, going public in 2023 and boasting an annual revenue of more than $700 million.
Xenohristos said Cava stands out due to its unique flavors and culture of generosity and friendliness.
“We really focused on sharing our cuisine, our culture and all the amazing aspects of the Mediterranean people.”