Cava photo
Audio By Carbonatix
The popular fast-casual Mediterranean chain Cava continues its rapid South Florida expansion, opening its first Kendall location in mid-April, moving into the 2,720-square-foot space at the Palms at Town & Country shopping center on Mills Drive that Bolay left behind.
It’s the fifth South Florida outpost for the Washington, D.C.-based chain. It went viral in South Florida when it launched in Hialeah in April 2025 and has since opened locations in Plantation, Brickell, and Aventura. The chain went public in 2023 and now operates more than 400 locations nationwide.
Ike Grigoropoulos, Chef Dimitri Moshovitis, and Ted Xenohristos founded Cava in 2010 with a sit-down restaurant in Rockville, Maryland, before expanding to a fast-casual style.
What’s on the Menu
Ordering is a build-your-own format: pick a base (greens, grains, or both), add a protein, layer in dips and toppings, and finish with a dressing. Grain bases include saffron basmati rice, brown basmati rice, and black lentils; greens run arugula, romaine, spinach, and a Super Greens blend. Crazy Feta — feta whipped with jalapeño, onion, and olive oil — is the chain’s signature side, appearing in most bowls and available as a standalone side.
Eight composed bowls are also on the menu for those who would rather have the restaurant decide for them.
The “Spicy Lamb + Avocado” stacks spicy lamb meatballs on black lentils with avocado, “Crazy Feta,” red pepper hummus, and lemon-herb tahini. The “Harissa Avocado” layers harissa-honey chicken, “Crazy Feta,” hummus, and avocado over saffron basmati rice. The “Falafel Crunch” piles falafel, roasted veggies, “Crazy Feta,” skhug (a spiced Yemeni herb sauce), and sumac slaw onto rice and lentils, then finishes with pita crisps. Pitas are also on the menu, made with sprouted-grain flatbread.
Cava photo
Aleppo Juices, Sodas, and Sides
Beyond fountain sodas, the kitchen makes blueberry lavender, cucumber mint lime, and tangerine Aleppo (a tangerine juice with Aleppo pepper heat) in-house. As for sides, offerings include hummus, tzatziki, red pepper hummus, roasted eggplant, and harissa. Pita chips come in the classic variety or in a flavored variety with sumac, sour cream, and onion.
The Palms at Town & Country, the 80-acre open-air center, has been adding new tenants. Barnes & Noble arrived recently, a Starbucks went in next door, and Cava landed in the space Bolay left. It’s also the second time the chain has taken over a former Bolay location in South Florida; the Aventura location made the same swap.
Cava. 8746 Mills Dr., Miami (Kendall); cava.com.
