Cava has quietly folded Grove City into its Central Ohio rollout, nudging the fast‑casual Mediterranean chain closer to a full Columbus‑area footprint. The latest move comes on the heels of earlier permit filings and hiring pushes that suggest the brand is lining up at least three local spots.
According to a Wednesday report from Columbus Business Journal, Grove City has been added to Cava’s local expansion plans, alongside locations in the Polaris and Hilliard areas. The outlet also notes that Cava has yet to open a single Ohio restaurant and that company officials still have not set a firm opening date.
Where the Restaurants Are Expected to Land
A city building permit points to work at the former Shake Shack at 1370 Polaris Parkway, while earlier permit activity tagged a Hilliard‑area site, early indicators that both the Polaris and Hilliard projects are moving from paperwork to construction. Local trackers first spotted those filings and renovation work in mid‑2025, and neighborhood blogs have been following every step. Just Opened CBUS detailed the permit information.
What This Means for Columbus Restaurants
Cava’s arrival will drop it directly into a field that already includes local Mediterranean favorites like Brassica and Agapé, both of which have spread across the metro and helped build demand for bowl‑driven fast‑casual spots. Local food coverage has flagged the category as already competitive for health‑forward fast casual, so Cava will be testing whether national scale can hang with hometown familiarity. 614Now has been tracking the chain’s pending debut and its local context.
Hiring and Timing
Job listings for “CAVA – Buckeye Parkway” in Grove City show the company is already recruiting managers and assistant managers, a standard pre‑opening move. Those postings, which appear on job boards, list pay and benefits for management roles. Indeed currently carries multiple CAVA listings tied to Grove City and Polaris.
On the national stage, Cava is still in growth mode: the company tapped industry veteran Doug Thompson as chief operating officer in January to help guide its next phase of openings, a leadership shift that signals a continued aggressive development push. Business Wire / Nasdaq reported the appointment.
For now, exact opening dates and finalized menus for the Grove City restaurant are still under wraps, and Cava has not offered a detailed local timeline beyond job postings and permit activity. The latest update from Columbus Business Journal remains the clearest public sign of the chain’s Central Ohio plans, and we will be watching for community‑day announcements and opening‑day details as they surface.
