CAVA, the Mediterranean fast-casual chain that opened its first location at 4832 Bethesda Ave. in January 2011, has reached 500 restaurants across 30 states and Washington, D.C.

The company marked the milestone on Wednesday, Sept. 23, with the opening of its first Minnesota restaurant at 622 Washington Ave. SE in Minneapolis, MoCo Show reported. All four co-founders attended the ribbon-cutting.

Three of those co-founders are Montgomery County natives. Ted Xenohristos graduated from Paint Branch High School, Ike Grigoropoulos from Gaithersburg High School and Dimitri Moshovitis attended Quince Orchard High School. The three first-generation Greek Americans launched the full-service Cava Mezze restaurant in Rockville in 2006 before developing the fast-casual concept with CEO Brett Schulman.

According to a company retrospective video cited by MoCo Show, the founders purchased headboards from Bed Bath & Beyond, cut off the legs and repurposed them as dividers for their restaurant. When they began selling dips and spreads in grocery stores, they sealed containers with handheld blow dryers because they lacked commercial equipment.

Their Greek immigrant parents had hoped they would pursue medicine or law.

CAVA went public in 2023, when its founders rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The company said in its Sept. 23 press release that it employs more than 15,000 workers and that new restaurants generate more than $3 million in average annualized sales.

"Reaching 500 restaurants is a defining moment for CAVA and a reflection of how far we've come," Schulman said in the release. He credited the company's 15,000 workers and said the milestone reflects the brand they have built together.

CAVA's expansion has included the acquisition of Zoës Kitchen and a push into California, which the founders described as a major leap roughly 3,000 miles from their home market. The Sept. 23 opening also included a charitable donation to The Food Group. CAVA's Community Day program has generated more than $1 million in donations for organizations addressing food insecurity since 2019.

The company said it is ahead of schedule toward a goal of at least 1,000 restaurants by 2032, when it expects its workforce to exceed 30,000.