Lauren Balik short Cava, says ‘next Chipotle, but the Chipotle of 2015’

In a recently published report on Medium titled “Cava is the Next Chipotle, But It’s the Chipotle of 2015,” Lauren Balik says that Cava (CAVA) is headstrong on storefront growth at the cost of health and food safety standards, a combination that did not end well for Chipotle (CMG) in 2015. Cava will face heavy pressures from labor unions in expansion geographies, which Cava has not faced with its red state-driven expansion of the past few years. I am short the equity of Cava.” “I believe that Cava is playing with fire when it comes to food safety, and I believe Cava is too focused on new store growth at the cost of in-store operations at existing Cava locations. This tradeoff that Cava management has accepted tells a strong growth narrative that has driven the stock price of Cava since IPO in June, 2023. I’m betting on a Cava health crisis in 2024,” she adds.