VERONA — The new CAVA facility in Verona was buzzing with activity Wednesday afternoon. Familiar Augusta County faces, local and state representatives, and some of CAVA’s business neighbors in Verona filled a reception area.
CAVA produces Mediterranean-inspired foods , such as Crazy Feta, pita wraps, pita chips, hummus, tzatziki, and salads. The facility was announced in 2021 , and a time-lapse video of the facility’s construction was projected onto a screen near the front entrance.
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A group formed on the opposite side of the room, with people putting on hair, beard, and shoe covers before going on a facility tour. No photography was allowed inside the manufacturing area. CAVA Vice President of Manufacturing Jason Huck led the group first through an office hallway. More hair and shoe nets were available nearby, and over a dozen pairs of shoes were lined up against the wall.
The roll-up door opens to a chilling gust
The group approached a large door, which rolled up. The other side was cold – half of the 55,000 square-foot facility is refrigerated. A fan tripped on after the group entered, keeping the large central area at temperature.
Past another door is a storage room, filled with literal tons of olive oil in stacked barrels and crates.
Huck trained as a microbiologist, studying how “to make milk taste better for longer” and tracing organisms from the farm to the final product.
Another room is for washing, cutting, and processing raw vegetables. Another is a complicated series of pipes hooked up to vats of olive oils and other ingredients.
Before entering the cold end of the facility, Huck told the group the most exciting part of the tour was the robot, so he saved it for last. The group re-entered the first and largest cold-area room. On the far end from the entrance was a hydraulic arm of a robot loading storage containers, measuring product by weight, then sending them into a machine the size of a room.
“The technology and process we're using, like the packaging robot we’ve nicknamed Pita, are designed to reduce repetitive tasks that can create injuries over time,” Chris Penny, CAVA Chief Manufacturing Officer, explained later during the ribbon cutting. Penny also highlighted the windows in the packaging room, letting more sunlight into the facility than expected.
An optimistic look into Augusta and CAVA's future
After the tours, the ribbon cutting ceremony began. Penny, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick, Augusta County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey Slaven, and CAVA co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman each highlighted what the facility means for CAVA, and for Augusta County.
"It says cohort, but it's a family of Mill Place Commerce neighbors. Blue Ridge Machine Works , Dascom , Interchange, Shamrock Farms, Sumitomo," said Slaven. "I know them. They're our neighbors here too. ... CAVA, you've got good neighbors in this commerce work, and they'll be your friends."
Slaven also spoke to the history and hopeful future of Mill Place Commerce Park.
"Since Mill Place was purchased in 1996, Augusta County's intention was to develop what has turned into working and attractive business environment to bring capable employment, economic opportunities to this area," Slaven said. "It offers 371 acres total. About 180 acres of that is still open for development."
Schulman told the crowd the company plans to become a leader in the expanding Mediterranean food market.
"We believe we can have a thousand restaurants nationwide by 2032, and we're investing in this scalable infrastructure to support that growth. Our initial $35 million investment here in Verona is a vital part of that strategy. Along with our existing facility in Laurel, Maryland, we can now support at least 750 restaurants."
After the speeches, the group moved to the front of the building, and the ribbon cutting officially opened the CAVA processing facility.
The Careers at CAVA page on the company’s website does not list any open positions as of Thursday, but Huck mentioned some might soon become available.
“We've hired a great team locally here,” Huck said during the tour. “We’re still transitioning, but we've actually, at this point, on our high-pressure processing, filled the shift.”
Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It’s welcome through email to lbordelon@gannett.com . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com .
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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: CAVA facility in Verona begins producing Mediterranean-inspired foods
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