CAVA — Restaurant in Harrisburg

First off, we love CAVA and eat there a lot when we travel. I’ve never had a bad experience until this one…. We walked in at 8:52 PM which was over an hour from posted closing time of 10pm. There were very few customers in the store. Maybe 1 or 2 others and they were already eating. A cashier was checking out a to go order. We stood at the counter for 2-3 minutes while employees ignored us, as they frantically cleaned up in front of and behind the counter. No one welcomed us, smiled, nothing. They were dismantling the prep stations and using buckets of soapy water to wash the cooler and heating stations, sweeping, mopping etc…. Finally the cashier came over (with the same gloves on she used at the cashier) and asked us if she could help us. We asked if they were closing at 9pm and she said no, they close at 10pm. We ordered and she proceeded to make our order on the dismantled, soapy prep station as the other employees continued to slop hot soapy water around while our food was on the counter. Our pita was literally dragged down the line next to our salad bowls, with the tops of the pita exposed from the sleeve and touching the counter. At one point the girl making our food placed an avocado, skin side down on the soap covered counter. She then proceeded to pick it up and scoop it out into our bowls. Granted the avocado skin didn’t go in our food but her hands were now covered in cleaner and she proceeded to prep our food and handle the lid that went over our salads. If we would have filmed this all occurring, the health department would have shut the place down today. The employees who were cleaning the prep station should have stopped immediately while our food was being assembled and resumed after it was done. Using cleaning products literally inches from a customer’s food being prepared is insane. I can totally understand getting ahead on the cleaning so when you close at 10pm you have less to do, but this was ridiculous. When customers come in to order food, they are your priority and you prepare their food in a safe and clean environment. Needless to say we were disgusted. We threw out the pita and reluctantly ate our ate our salads. Thankfully, we didn’t get sick. Management needs to have a serious talk about food safety with their employees at this location. Needless to say, we...

So, technically I guess the food would be okay-ish if it had been right. My husband and son both got the Steak and Feta Pita sandwiches exactly the way they came and the pita was warm but everything else was ice cold. Also, half of the toppings were missing (according to the sign at the restaurant and the menu online). My daughter and I each got Greek Chicken Pita sandwiches exactly the way they came and while ours had all of the toppings, not even the pita was warm on our sandwiches. We didn't discover any of this until we got home. Once the sandwiches were warmed up, they tasted okay, but full disclosure: we all had stomach issues later, so proceed with caution. Additionally, they seemed to have a good amount of staff but while a few employees made eye contact with us over and over while we stood there for quite a while, no one ever greeted us or said anything about getting to us until the person finally finished the order before ours and asked to take our order. I understand they were busy but I've worked retail for many years and a little "I'll be right with you!" goes a long way when people are waiting and don't want to feel ignored. To make matters worse, it was confusing as to which side you were supposed to order from and it was extremely loud in there. Just chaotic and not a place I ever want to voluntarily return to. All in all it was a very underwhelming experience for almost $75 in...

Visited on a Monday around 3:30p.m., they were completely out of falafel, chicken and vegetables. The yellow rice looked hard, crunchy, and brown on top. The soda machine was down and had an out of order note on it. The lobby floor was nasty with trash on it as well as the tables were dirty. I witnessed an employee enter from the side door, walk near the kitchen and lift his hat up, rub through his hair, and place his hats back down all while speaking to the cook on the line. The cook on the line proceeded to walk to the computer monitor close to the side door and type on monitor with gloves on. Did not remove the gloves and went right back in the kitchen and proceeded to chop up chicken. Was told it would be a few minutes for chicken and that they were rolling up falafel balls. Had to physically go back up to line myself to see that they had restocked both. The two females working the front didn’t mention it. I was inconvenienced on lay lunch break. Then, I asked if they had the free pita bread that I normally receive with my bowl, female who prepares my order said yes, but didn’t add to my bag. Food cost too much, the portion sizes are too small, I don’t like speaking over food and being able to walk through kitchen from outside without washing hands and proper hygiene taking place. This may be a further conversation with the...