Dive Brief:

• Cava has secured $40 million in funding, according to an SEC filing. Cava didn't respond to a request for comment by press time regarding how the company plans to use the new capital. 
• The new funding round brings the total capital raised by the company to over $459 million, Washington Business Journal reports. The fast casual chain is valued at over $578 million.
• The filing doesn't say which investors were part of the recent funding, but past investors include Revolution Growth of D.C., Swan & Legend Venture Partners and The Invus Group, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Dive Insight:

The new funding will bolster one of the fastest growing limited-service chains with under $200 million in sales. The chain had roughly $85 million in sales in 2018, growing sales 67.9% and increasing units by over 56%, according to data from Technomic. And it doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.

In 2018, it secured $35 million in capital and then went on to buy Zoe's Kitchen for about $300 million, according to Washington Business Journal. It has opened new locations outside of its main region of Washington D.C. with sites in New Jersey, Dallas, Texas and plans to enter Nashville, Tennessee in early 2020. Given that this latest funding round is even larger than what it secured in 2018, it's possible that Cava is positioned to make another acquisition.

Cava is integrating more technology and innovation into its operations, rolling out drive-up windows for mobile pickup and testing digital menu boards and new menu ingredients and options at its innovation kitchen. More funding could also help support these moves and allow for more experimentation, letting it maintain a competitive advantage as other like-minded fast casual concepts like Hummus & Pita and Curry Up Now expand as well.