CAVA named industry veteran Doug Thompson as Chief Operations Officer effective March 2. In this role, Thompson will oversee all restaurant operations and field teams, supporting CAVA’s mission to bring heart-forward hospitality and healthful Mediterranean cuisine to communities nationwide. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment as the brand targets rapid expansion beyond its current 415 locations, with a funded plan to reach 1,000 restaurants by 2032.

Thompson brings more than 20 years of operational leadership from Texas Roadhouse, where he served as COO and VP of Operations and guided the chain through 40 consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales growth. He also led Tumble 22 Texas Chicken Joint as CEO, doubling its unit count and building a scalable infrastructure. His expertise in opening new restaurants, developing leadership pipelines and driving sustained comparable-store sales will be critical as CAVA scales its footprint.

While CAVA’s mature restaurants saw same-store sales growth moderate to 1.9% in Q3 2025, the chain’s newest openings generated annualized average unit volumes above $3 million—placing them among the top performers in the limited-service segment. Despite rising input costs, restaurant-level profit margins remained above 24% in the third quarter, demonstrating that CAVA’s pricing and operational model can deliver healthy returns in diverse markets from suburban Chicago to Florida.

CAVA’s long-term thesis rests on its ability to replicate the strong unit economics of its new stores across a larger network. With only 415 locations today versus more than 3,000 for some peers, the brand has significant runway for growth. If CAVA sustains mid-20% restaurant-level margins while tripling its store count over the next seven years, current valuation levels could prove highly attractive to investors focused on health- and wellness-driven concepts in the fast-casual sector.