Cyclospora scare cost Cava 150 basis points as Q3 comps slow to 3.1%

Cava's same-store sales grew just 3.1% in the quarter ended Oct. 4, and the company says a cyclospora outbreak it had nothing to do with cost it 150 basis points of comparable sales.

The fast-casual Mediterranean chain wasn't implicated in the outbreak, which federal food-safety investigators tied to iceberg lettuce. But thousands of people fell ill earlier this year, and consumers steered clear of salad-heavy concepts for weeks while officials hunted for the source. That avoidance behavior hit Cava's traffic directly.

The numbers show a clear deceleration. Same-store sales grew 9% in the second quarter, with traffic up 5.3%. In the first quarter, comps rose 10% and traffic climbed 6.8%. By the third quarter, growth came almost entirely from menu pricing and mix, with traffic only "slightly positive."

What else slowed the quarter?

CEO and co-founder Brett Schulman said the chain also saw some "choppiness" when gas prices spiked after Labor Day. Put plainly, two external shocks — a food-safety scare and a fuel-price jump — landed in the same quarter, and Cava still posted positive traffic.

The rest of the P&L tells a growth story with a profitability wrinkle. Revenues grew 22.1% to $353.7 million, driven by 102 net new openings this year, with newer restaurants exceeding performance expectations. Net income fell to $13.2 million from $14.7 million a year ago, which the company blamed on higher depreciation and amortization — including capital investments to enhance the restaurant experience — plus higher equity-based compensation, partially offset by improved operating performance.

Average unit volume ticked up to $3.1 million from $2.9 million a year earlier. That's roughly $200,000 more in annual sales per location, and it came during a quarter with a produce-safety headwind.

How is Cava managing pricing?

The chain raised menu prices 1.5%, but only on premium and attachment items — not on the base bowl price. Schulman said the base bowl hasn't been increased in about two years. That's a deliberate menu-engineering play: protect the entry price point that drives traffic, and take margin on the add-ons.

On the protein side, the chain's popular salmon will stay on the menu into the spring, longer than previously expected. A new Garlic Shrimp item, which Schulman said has performed well in test, rolls out next year, though timing hasn't been set.

Does the guidance raise change anything?

Yes, on two fronts. Cava now projects full-year same-store sales growth of 6% to 7%, up from an earlier range of 4.5% to 6%. It also expects 76 to 78 net new restaurant openings, raised from 75 to 77.

The unit count reached 500 locations with 24 net new restaurants added during the quarter — a more than 20% increase year over year.

Schulman pointed to sales trend strength at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth as the basis for the raise. "Structurally, we're more confident in the business than ever," he said. "No matter what the environment, short term, and the exogenous macro or geopolitical challenges around us, the health of the business is shining through underneath."

If the fourth-quarter trends hold, Cava enters 2026 with a comp engine rebuilt on pricing discipline rather than traffic — and a 500-unit base still expanding at roughly 20% a year.