Monday, December 6, 2021

[EXCLUSIVE] Cava Sets Date For Delayed Debut at Peachtree Battle, Plans to Convert Another Zoes Kitchen

Zoës Kitchen has again closed its location at The Plaza at City Springs in Sandy Springs.  The 2,800 square foot restaurant, located at 5840 Roswell Road, just outside I-285, closed along with several other Zoës locations last year, but unlike the others, which remain closed and in some cases have since reopened as other restaurants, it reopened this past June.  This past week, however, the restaurant was closed for good with Zoës signage now removed from the building and the space's windows now wrapped in "coming soon" graphics for Cava.  

In case you missed it, Cava, owned by Rockville, Maryland-based Cava Group, took then-public Zoës Kitchen private in a $300 million deal backed by Panera founder Ron Shaich in 2018.  In the years since, Cava has converted dozens of Zoës Kitchen units into Cava.  The company's conversions in metro Atlanta started earlier this year with the opening of Cava at Tuxedo Festival in north Buckhead near Chastain Park.  Thirteen more conversions were to have followed with the last openings slated for October.  Procurement and permit delays pushed several openings with the Decatur Crossing location having debuted in late November and the Peachtree Battle outpost expected to open December 17.  

The former Zoës Kitchen in Sandy Springs was not part of the originally announced conversion group and after reopening this past June did robust catering sales given it was one of the few units left in metro Atlanta.  

Following the opening of the Cava in Sandy Springs, Zoës will operate just nine locations in Georgia, with just one inside the perimeter (ITP), on Oxford Road near Emory University.  The remaining nine locations are: Augusta, Columbus, Duluth, Emory Village, Macon, Peachtree City, Savannah, Snellville and Woodstock.  

According to a Cava spokesperson, there is still no current or planned reciprocity between the two concepts when it comes to gift card usage.

Cava, which ended 2020 with 105 units, currently has 162 open, with several more, including the Peachtree Battle location in Atlanta, listed as "coming soon" on its website.    

Are you pleased by the expansion of Cava in metro Atlanta?  Do you think the owners of Cava should have continued to operate both Zoës and Cava rather than phasing out the Zoës concept?  What is your favorite Mediterranean food?

Please share your thoughts below.  

8 comments:

Tres said...

I literally drove past this Zoe's a couple of weeks ago and thought "well, they must be keeping this one a Zoe's". Guess I was wrong. But I do love Cava, so bring em on!

Anonymous said...

The pita bread they use is terrible. They can do better especially since the food is great.

Anonymous said...

Cava is such a disappointment after enjoying Zoe's for years. There's so much less variety in the menu.

Unknown said...

when Zoe's first came to ATL it was excellent. their steak kabobs with roasted veggies and rice pilaf were my go-to. then suddenly, quality went downhill and the rice pilaf was replaced with tumeric rice which was awful. haven't been back since.

Jodyml813 said...

I agree! I miss the fresh ingredients and the variety. I also find Cava very salty and very one note.

Anonymous said...

i think cava is growing too quikly for the kind of restaurant it is i think they are overestimated the concept in ga all i saw was hummus type food on the menu I walked out zoes reached its hey day

Anonymous said...

I have tried the Cava near Perimeter Mall three times now, and it has gone from bad to worse. The food is good, but the service is awful. They are always out of at least 3 ingredients, the process of building a meal takes FOREVER, and heaven forbid you eat there with more than 3 other people - the tables are all bolted to the floor, so you can't push them together. The soda machines seem dirty too. It seems like they are actively discouraging you from eating in the restaurant, in favor of ordering online for pickup or delivery only. Last experience was painful.

Anonymous said...

The Zoe's on Peachtree Battle was disgusting by the end. Let's hope these folks can do better.

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