As her team prepped for the Aug. 11 earnings call, they leaned on AI tools built into Cava’s proprietary data platforms, Cava Core and Cava Current, to run Q&A preparation and business analysis, Tolivar told me. She sees AI more as a way to make her team sharper and faster as internal advisors. And Tolivar sees opportunities to lean into AI to make the lives of employees on the front line at restaurants easier and streamline processes.
 
“But we believe in human connection,” she added. AI’s job, in her telling, is to clear friction from the restaurant floor, not replace the people running it. Cava plans to hire 2,500 new employees this year even while scaling automation. It’s a distinction worth watching as more consumer brands face pressure to prove AI ROI without downsizing the workforce that drives their hospitality branding.

Cava also launched “Flavor Your Future,” a campaign designed to support career growth within the company as it continues its rapid expansion. One of the newest components is an assistant general manager position, Tolivar said. The role, which currently exists in about 70% of the restaurants, aims to build a bigger bench of future general managers and leaders, she said.

Cava opened 17 net new restaurants in Q2. This expansion brought its total footprint to 476 locations nationwide. The company is on track to open a total of 75 new restaurants this year.

I asked Tolivar about prices. Cava raised menu prices just 1.4% to 1.5% at the start of 2026, kept base bowl prices flat, and has undercut CPI by nearly half for several years, she said. “As we move through the rest of the year, we are not anticipating any further price increases at this time,” she added.

Regarding the menu, the chain added salmon this quarter, which Tolivar said met expectations and reinforced Cava’s stake in the seafood side of the Mediterranean diet. Most recently, it rolled out Harissa barbecue pita chips, which she thinks are best dipped in the garlic dressing.

Sheryl Estrada
Sheryl.Estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Fortune 500 Power Moves

Drew Asher, CFO of Centene Corporation (No. 19), has notified the company of his intention to step down in December and retire from Centene at the end of 2027. Chris Neczypor will join the organization in September and work alongside Asher, assuming the EVP and CFO role on Jan. 1, 2027. Neczypor most recently served as EVP and CFO for Lincoln Financial. Since joining Lincoln in 2018, he has held other leadership positions, including as chief strategy officer and roles spanning investments, strategic planning and enterprise transformation.

The weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.

More notable moves

Shane Harrison was appointed CFO of Resideo Technologies (NYSE: REZI), a global developer and manufacturer, effective Sept. 1. Harrison has more than 25 years of experience across corporate finance, investor relations, and strategic transactions. He joins Resideo from NRC Health, where he served as CFO. He has also served as SVP of corporate development at NAVEX Global, a risk and compliance-based software business. 

Yaron Eldad was named CFO of Freightos Limited (Nasdaq: CRGO), a global freight pricing, booking and procurement platform, effective Sept. 1.  Most recently, Eldad served as CFO of Evogene Ltd. Earlier, as CFO of technology company e-SIM, he helped scale the business internationally, and led its IPO. 

Big Deal

In the age of AI, the critical variable may be managerial capability, not the software itself. That's a finding of a new Gallup report. 

Of a group of 102 CHROs surveyed by Gallup, 99% say AI is somewhat or very important to their organization’s strategy. However, half said they are not confident in managers' ability to guide employees' AI use. Employees whose managers actively champion AI are eight times more likely to say the technology has transformed how work gets done (33% vs. 4%) and are notably more likely to report culture gains, according to the findings.

Going deeper

Can AI companies regulate themselves? That's a question discussed in an episode of Wharton's "This Week in Business" podcast. Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics Kevin Werbach explains why AI governance is so difficult, why companies can't be left to regulate themselves, and what governments need to do as AI becomes more powerful.

Overheard

"Humans will definitely be living and working in space."

—Voyager Technologies founder and CEO Dylan Taylor told Fortune in an interview. “The next step would be the moon," according to the billionaire space exec. "That’ll happen in the 2030s—probably early 2030s,” Taylor added.