Cava is coming to Forbes this year, bringing Mediterranean flavors to Pitt’s campus

Students seeking Mediterranean meals will have a new option coming to campus later this year.

Cava is a fast-casual, Mediterranean-inspired restaurant chain with Greek influences and Greek founders that offer customizable bowls and pitas, and is scheduled to open later this year at 3615 Forbes Ave with dine-in seating or to-go option. Students in Pitt’s Hellenic Student Association said they are excited for the arrival of the restaurant. 

Cava Mezze originated in Rockville, Maryland, and evolved into the fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava with 384 locations in the United States. According to a representative from Cava, the restaurant is planned to open later this year in Oakland, but they couldn’t confirm any other specifics or an opening time frame as of now. 

Alexandra Koffler, president of Hellenic Student Association, said she’s excited for the new restaurant to open. Being half Greek, growing up Koffler attended Greek school alongside public school, which allowed her to be deeply immersed in the culture. 

“I think it’s great,” Koffler, a junior health informatics major, said. “It’s really convenient if we wanted to get Greek food as a club altogether or just if I wanted a meal that tastes like food that my mom would make at home.”

Michael Christofidis, vice president of the Hellenic Student Association, agreed that Oakland needs a restaurant that reminds him of home. As a second-generation Greek whose grandfather owns three restaurants, Christofidis comes from a family that’s very familiar with the restaurant industry. 

“I think that the campus would very much like a new fresh cultural restaurant to go to, especially if it’s a more nice sit-down place. I would definitely go with friends there for dinners,” Christofidis said. “It’s good to see more Greek restaurants.”

Coming from the Chicago area, where there is a high number of Greek restaurants, Christofidis said it is surprising to see how few Greek restaurants there are in the Pittsburgh area. 

“Greek restaurants are not very well represented here. There are Mediterranean restaurants around here that’ll do maybe one or two Greek dishes, and then the rest will have some Turkish dishes or dishes from other Mediterranean countries,” Christofidis said. “Back home … We have Greek restaurants at least every two or three miles. It’s definitely surprising that it is so underrepresented for an area that has such a large population of students.”

Koffler said this absence of dedicated Greek restaurants has left many students she knows craving a true taste of Greece. She hopes that Cava will offer some traditional dishes like spanakopita, her favorite Greek dish, that remind her of home.

“I hope that they include some real, traditional Greek food and they can stick into the traditional culture as much as you can with the menu,” Koffler said. “It’s the culture that makes the food. It’s about using the food to connect with the Greek people.”

Once Cava opens, Koffler said the Hellenic Student Association already has plans to host a club dinner or fundraising events at the restaurant.

“We would totally be into doing a dinner night for the club to all have a meal together that is a representation of us and our culture,” Koffler said.

A previous version of this article stated the new restaurant will be a Cava Mezze, and was updated to clarify that the restaurant will be a Cava. The Pitt News regrets this error.