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CAVA is adding Glazed Salmon to the menu beginning April 20 for a limited time. The launch marks the fast-casual chain’s first seafood offering.
The salmon will be marinated in a house-made pomegranate glaze featuring pomegranate molasses sourced from Just Date, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2017 by Dr. Sylvie Charles that creates organic, date-based sweeteners. The tangy-sweet molasses is a common ingredient in Levantine cooking.
“At the Mediterranean table, seafood is enjoyed every day, it’s not only reserved for special occasions,” CAVA Co-Founder and Chief Concept Officer Ted Xenohristos said in a statement. “Bringing salmon to our menu isn’t about just adding another protein, it’s about expanding how people experience Mediterranean food at scale. We took the time to get this right, from sourcing to preparation, so it delivers on both flavor and quality in a way that feels true to who we are.”
CAVA’s Glazed Salmon is available in any build-your-own bowls or as part of two new seasonal Chef Curations:
Salmon + Strawberry Sesame Bowl: Pairing salmon and tzatziki served over brown rice and spinach and featuring a new tart strawberry sesame dressing. The bowl also includes roasted red pepper hummus, Persian cucumbers, feta, tomato, onion, and sumac slaw.
Salmon + Yogurt Dill Bowl: Glazed salmon served over arugula and saffron basmati rice. It also includes traditional hummus and Crazy Feta, fire-roasted corn, tomato, onion, Persian cucumber, and yogurt dill dressing.
To promote the launch, CAVA will feature a salmon-themed experience with exclusive rewards in its app from May 4-11.
The salmon launch comes on the heels of the company’s fourth-quarter results, which included a 21.2% increase in revenue and a 0.5% increase in same-store sales, driven largely by price. Traffic declined by 1.4%. For the full-year of 2025, same-store sales were up 4%.
During the company’s earnings call in February, CEO Brett Schulman said he was optimistic about accelerating momentum in 2026 because of the chain’s entry into new markets in the Midwest, CAVA’s new loyalty program, and the salmon launch.
“Salmon fits seamlessly into the Mediterranean diet and naturally expands the variety of choices we can offer our guests,” he told analysts.
CAVA has caught a strong tailwind from previous protein launches, including its June 2024 introduction of steak to the menu. The protein helped drive a 14.4% same-store sales lift that quarter, including a 9.5% bump in traffic.
Dining and Cooking