Zoës Kitchen – Wikipedia

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American restaurant chain specializing in made-from-scratch foods

Zoës Kitchen is a Mediterranean Style restaurant chain that is a subsidiary of the Cava Group.[2] Their headquarters are located in Plano, Texas, United States. By 2013, the chain grew to include over 200 locations across 17 states; however, the acquisition by Cava has resulted in a reduction in Zoe’s locations (some replaced by Cava restaurants); as of late December 2022, 35 locations in 13 states remained.[3] At the rate of closures shown in 2022 it is expected the chain will no longer be active sometime in 2023; by March 23, 2023 there was exactly one location remaining.[4]

History[edit]

Zoës Kitchen was originally based in Homewood, Alabama in June 1995 as Zoe’s Kitchen Inc.[5] It was founded by Zoë and Marcus Cassimus.[6] Originally, the restaurants were not franchised with Cassimus retaining a 51 percent ownership stake in all newly opened locations.[7]

Its first location opened in October 1995 in downtown Homewood.[8] A second location opened in the Riverchase section of Hoover in 1999, and a third in downtown Birmingham in March 2001.[6] The restaurant continued its expansion with the opening of its first store outside the Birmingham area in Tuscaloosa in May 2001 and its first out of state location in Nashville, Tennessee in the fall of 2001.[9] By 2006, Zoës had expanded to sixteen restaurants, with eight located in Alabama and others located in Phoenix, Nashville, Memphis, Baton Rouge and Destin.[10]

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With 20 stores open by 2007, Cassimus sold a majority ownership stake to Brentwood Associates of Los Angeles.[11] Following the purchase, Cassimus announced that he would remain as chief executive. The company would still be headquartered in Birmingham, and the menu would not be affected. Additionally, it was revealed that the sale could potentially result in the opening of 200 new franchises over the next five years.[11] By Spring 2008 GE Capital Solutions loaned the company ten million dollars to allow for the development of 50 new stores across the southeast and southwest.[12]

In November 2008, Cassimus resigned with Greg Dollarhyde taking his place as CEO.[13] Formerly the CEO of Baja Fresh, Dollarhyde announced that he would be looking to expand the restaurant to new locales with two-thirds remaining company owned and the remainder being franchised.[13]

As of August 2011, Zoës has 11 franchised stores, and the rest are company-owned. President Kevin Miles announced that Zoës would consider multi-unit franchisees in the future.

Zoës launched online ordering in 2011 and a mobile loyalty app in 2013.

Miles promised that the company would stay headquartered in Birmingham in 2011.[14] However, when the company announced that it was going to be publicly traded in 2014,[15]SEC filings showed the headquarters as Plano, Texas.[16] Reasons given for the shift included simplifying travel, a lack of talent available in Birmingham, and the need to consolidate offices to prepare for an IPO. Local media, business, and civic leaders said they were unaware of the move.

In August 2018, Zoës was acquired by Cava Group, Inc. for $12.75 in cash for each Zoës common share. Cava Group is a privately held Mediterranean restaurant chain.

On September 24, 2018, American Airlines announced that Zoe’s Kitchen will be the primary food partner to serve the light snack and food items in their aircraft’s main cabin seats.[17]

In January 2023, Zoës closed their Crestline Village location in Mountain Brook, which made the downtown Birmingham location the last remaining Zoës in the Birmingham metro area.[18] Two Birmingham locations were converted into CAVA franchises, including the original Homewood location. Shortly after the closure of the Crestline location, Cassimus announced that his family, in partnership with the Cava Group, would be taking over the Crestline location to bring back the original Zoës menu from 1995.[19]

Locations[edit]

As of December 24, 2022, Zoës Kitchen had 35 locations in thirteen states.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b “Zoë’s Overview”. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  2. ^ “Cava Buys Zoes Kitchen in $300 Million Deal”. QSR magazine. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  3. ^ “Locations Sitemap”. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. ^ “Zoe’s Kitchen Locations”. Zoe’s Kitchen. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  5. ^ “June incorporations in Jefferson County”. The Birmingham News. July 18, 1995.
  6. ^ a b Williams, Roy L. (November 14, 2000). “Zoe’s to expand downtown”. The Birmingham News.
  7. ^ Williams, Roy L. (November 10, 2002). “Former running back to kitchen coach”. The Birmingham News.
  8. ^ Harvey, Fletcher (September 21, 1995). “New Zoe’s features healthy menu”. The Birmingham News.
  9. ^ Williams, Roy L.; O’Hara, Jo Ellen (November 7, 2003). “Zoe’s debuts its new look when Federal Place restaurant opens”. The Birmingham News.
  10. ^ Williams, Roy L. (May 31, 2006). “Zoe’s set to spread wings with stores in more states”. The Birmingham News.
  11. ^ a b Goodman, Sherri C. (November 2, 2007). “Zoe’s Kitchen selling big stake Cassimus sees deal as spice for expansion”. The Birmingham News.
  12. ^ Williams, Roy L. (April 16, 2008). “Finance plan will enable Zoe’s to add 50 locations”. The Birmingham News.
  13. ^ a b Williams, Roy L. (December 10, 2008). “Zoe’s new CEO wants to grow the eatery’s brand”. The Birmingham News.
  14. ^ “Zoës Kitchen set to add up to 5 spots”. Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  15. ^ “Zoës Kitchen files IPO, looks to raise $80.5M”. Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  16. ^ “Why Zoës Kitchen moved its HQ from Birmingham”. Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  17. ^ “Take a Bite: American Airlines and Zoës Kitchen Add New Flavors to the Main Cabin Menu”. news.aa.com.
  18. ^ Thornton, William (2023-01-03). “Zoe’s Kitchen in Mountain Brook closes: 1 left in Birmingham area”. al. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  19. ^ Koplowitz, Howard (2023-01-12). “Zoe’s Kitchen coming back to Crestline Village under original owners”. al. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  20. ^ “Location Search – Zoës Kitchen”. zoeskitchen.com.

External links[edit]


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