CAVA — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

DO NOT EVER GO TO THIS RESTAURANT AND EAT THERE.........

So a few days ago I decided to take my daughter and child's mother out to eat. Because my child's mother was not feeling well.We decided on a small restaurant and Cava was chossen. Upon arrival to Cava I seen that almost every table in the restaurant was dirty. And the line to get food was a little long. Because I have prior restaurant experience my this was they just had a rush. So we order our food. The two young ladies that made our plates was amazing, very polite and professional. So as we are in the last step of getting our food made, I seen a man (JOSE) that I later found out is the MANAGER ON DUTY THAT NIGHT, JOSE was wiping down the counter top area where the keep the food that our meals are made with.While food is in the process of being made. As he wipes by my 3 year old daughter kids meal tray. He hit the top corner of the tray so hard that a few pieces of chicken from my daughter pita ended up in her rice. NOT ONCE DID HE ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT HE DID OR EVEN ASK FOR ANOTHER TRAY TO BE MADE. HE CONTINUED TO DO WHATEVER IT WAS HE WAS DOING. ALSO MY I ADD THAT ONCE A DIRTY RAG TOUCHES A CLEAN PLATE THAT PLATE IS NO LONGER SANITIZED. THIS IS TAUGHT IN THE FOOD HANDLERS CLASS AT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. SO AFTER ABOUT A MINUTE I ASKED ONE OF THE LADIES BEHIND THE COUNTER TO REMAKE MY CHILD PLATE. THIS WAS DONE WITH NO PROBLEM BECAUSE THESE WORKERS ALSO WITNESS THE SAME THING I DID. SO AS I AM PAYING FOR THE FOOD, MY CHILD HAS TO USE THE BATHROOM. SO HER MOTHER TAKES HER AS I WAIT FOR MY CHANGE AND THE CUP FOR MY CHILD'S MOTHER FOOD. I GET OUR ORDER AND MY CHANGE AND I APPROACH THE TABLE I CHOOSE TO SIT AT. THE TABLE WAS DIRTY SO I MADE THE DECISION TO SRIVE THE 20 MINUTES BACK HOME TO EAT DINNER. I GO STAND BY THE BATHROOM TO WAIT FOR MY FAMILY. AS I AM WAITING FOR THEM TO EXIT THE BATHROOM. I BEGAN SPEAKING TO ONE OF THE GIRLS THAT MADE OUR FOOD ABOUT HOW UPSET I WAS. HER FIRST REPLY TO ME WAS" I AM MAD MYSELF". SO AS WE ARE TALKING I SEE JOSE LOOKING IN OUR DIRECTION. WHEN HE STARTS TO WALK TOWARDS US my first thought is I know he ain't about to ask me if I have a problem. And I even express this to the young lady I was speaking to. So Jose walks up and ask Me "Is there a problem Sir" and my reply was a straight out " YES, YOU ARE MY PROBLEM". AT THIS POINT HE LOOKS AT ME CRAZY AS HELL AS IF HIS FEELINGS WAS HURT. AND I EXPLAIN TO HIM WHAT HE DID. JOSE HAD THE NERVE TO DENY WHAT TOOK PLACE. AT THAT POINT I LOST IT. NOW JOSE IS IN HIS FEELINGS BECAUSE I RAISED MY VOICE AT HIM AND SAID A FEW CUSS WORDS. SO I TOLD HIM I HAVE THE FREEDOM OF SPEACH AND IF HE DONT LIKE WHAT I HAVE TO SAY THEN HE CAN GET OUT MY FACE. TO WHICH JOSE REPLIES "IT DON'T WORK LIKE THAT MY MAN". NOT ONCE DID I CAME AND SAY ANYTHING TO JOSE ABOUT MY PROBLEM. SO NOW THAT I AM TELLING HIM WHAT MY IS, I AM NO LONGER ALLOWED IN THE STORE. SO JOSE ASKED ME TO LEAVE. I TELL HIM I WILL LEAVE ONCE MY FAMILY COMES OUT THE BATHROOM AND JOSE AGAIN TELLS ME I HAVE TO LEAVE THE STORE. HE SAIDS THIS MULTIPLE TIMES AND I GIVE HIM THE SAME REPLY. SO BEING I AM ANGRY WITH JOSE BUT RESPECTFUL TO ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE ON STAFF THAT NIGHT, JOSE DECIDED THAT I WAS TRESSPASSING AND DECIDED TO CALL THE POLICE. HE COULD HAVE SAVED THAT CALLED BECAUSE I WILL NEVER IN A MILLIIN YEARS GO TO ANY CAVA RESTAURANT AGAIN. JOSE EVEN HAD THE AUDACITY THE TELL ME I WAS SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE FOR MY DAUGHTER. LMMFAO, AND WHAT TYPE OF EXAMPLE ARE YOU SETTING JOSE. MULTIPLE PEOPLE INCLUDING THE EMPLOYEE'S THAT YOU ARE MANAGING JUST WITNESS YOU COMMITT A FEW HEALTH CODE VIOLATIONS. IF JOSE WILL DO THIS IN FRONT OF COSTUMERS, WHAT ELSE IS JOSE DOING WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING OR PAYING ATTENTION. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE PLATES OF PEOPLE WHO ONLINE OR THROUGH A FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE. I DONT SEE HOW A RESTAURANT THAT SAY THAT THEY CARE ABOUT COSTUMERS SAFETY AND THAT THEY HOLD ALL THEIR RESTAURANTS TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF CLEANLINESS AND SANITIZATION COULD EMPLOY A PERSON LIKE JOSE...

Today, Sunday … December 8, 2024, it was crazy busy and the line was wrapped around the store. Online orders were backed up and lines on the pick up side were forming. The truth is, I don’t think anyone expected CAVA to be this busy on a Sunday. However, it was 65 degrees outside, and the middle of December, after we had been facing temps in the 30s and 40s. So of course, a lot of families were probably out shopping or enjoying each other‘s company and of course probably stopping at CAVA for lunch. While waiting, patiently might I add, (approximately 20-30 minutes), I watched as the crew worked together to try to stock up the serving bars as quickly as possible. People were there with families (kids, spouse, friends, etc.). So unfortunately, it was not your typical lunch rush with one person in line during lunch on a weekday, getting a bowl. It was more like families ordering food, (3-4+ bowls/pitas at a time) meaning that the supply will go down a lot quicker. I watched everybody work as hard as they could to get the lines down, and THEN it happened… a customer who had apparently been waiting for an online order and canceled her online order, pushed to the front of the line, and basically started yelling at an employee, and the manager walked up to understand what was happening. The fact that he literally had chicken on the grill, was cutting up more chicken, and also multitasking with all the other prep items, and still able to acknowledge that one of his employees needed help, and step to the front to see what was happening, was remarkable within itself. The manager held his composure and explained to her that unfortunately, she would have to request her refund online since that’s where she ordered, and she was basically stating that she paid the store online and he was like “unfortunately, I can’t open the drawer to give you cash out of the drawer because you placed your order online and it charged your card, online.” So she starts getting loud and asking for a manager and screaming at him in front of his employees telling him that they’re moving too slow. And he basically stated “ma’am, I’m sorry but there’s nothing else I can do, you have to request online,” and she basically got upset and asked for manager. He said he was the manager, and she got mad and stormed off. After she stormed off, he continued to work with his crew and was doing everything behind the prep bar to include cooking the chicken making the rice making all the vegetables like he was literally multitasking as quickly as possible. He had two girls on the to go line and two individuals on the pick up dine in takeout line . I want to give a huge shout out to that manager for holding his composure and working with his team to get this stuff done and not letting one inpatient person who can clearly see that today was not a regular day, on a Sunday. Everyone else waited just like she could have, and you could see that they were working as quickly and as hard as possible. Rice & chicken takes a bit to cook, imagine how she would’ve felt if she got undercooked rice or raw chicken … then she would’ve been all over social media saying that they didn’t cook her food all the way… but anyone who cooks knows that stuff takes 20 to 30 minutes to cook and they cook it as quickly as possible. So unfortunately, she made herself look bad and the manager came out a HERO! I am sure his team appreciate him and I just wanted to give him and his team...

I frequent Cava a lot, as it is one of my favorite places to eat, and there is one of the most unpleasant managers at that store that goes by the name of Hannah. Today I go into the location to order and there wasn’t any grilled chicken ready so I went with steak, upon eating the bowl there was a hard little blue piece of something, in size it was like an extremely small point of a ballpoint pin and the texture felt like an eggshell but slightly harder. I kept the bowl and called, I was told to come up there and bring the bowl and she put emphasis on bring the bowl, I immediately knew it was her because she has an unpleasant disposition whether it is her tone or bodily language. I learned she was a manager before because of an experience I had before where my online order was incorrect, typically they would put it in a book and I had no issues keeping my evidence (receipt and food) and to my surprise she says that they do not use some loyalty book jargon and that it couldn’t be replaced. That is the reason I also came in today. Well I come in and she asks me for the food, places it on the counter where the register is and starts digging in the bowl with her hands. If that isn’t insanity then I don’t know what is, then she probes me asking where the foreign. Object is and I said “ I bit it why would still be in the food!? I took it out and flicked it in my work trash can” and her reply was that she wanted to see it. She told me I could wait in line again which there was about 10 people already ahead of the line. So I go to the line, I came back and asked if I could just get it replaced without waiting and she barked that she has 33 orders and she can’t just let me skip, ok no problem I ask if I can just come tomorrow, obviously because this is an inconvenience to me at this point and she says no. I spend a lot on cava , not just what you see in my rewards but outside of that and the fact that I don’t even want to go to the store closest to me anymore just because she is there is telling. I would rather drive 20 minutes away. Maybe a crew member might can get away with being snarky but a manager should absolutely not! She is supposed to set the tone and she fails miserably. Her people skills are lousy, even down to her body language. Ugh it’s disgusting and frustrating and I spend my money where I am welcomed and at this location I do not feel that way...