One of Cava’s curated bowls: the Lentil Avocado Bowl, with falafel, roasted vegetables, avocado, spinach, roasted eggplant, hummus, pickled onions, cucumber, lentil tabbouleh, and cabbage slaw topped with with skhug and garlic dressing.
Courtesy of Shelby Tauber
The casual Greek Mediterranean restaurant Cava shortly before its opening in 2017 at 129 West Putnam Ave. in Greenwich.
Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media
Folks order food from the casual Greek Mediterranean restaurant Cava during its free community lunch at its Greenwich location in 2017. Restaurant-goers ate for free before the grand opening.
Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media
One of Cava’s custom bowls above their toppings.
Courtesy of Shelby Tauber
BROOKFIELD — A Greek and Middle Eastern fast-food chain that specializes in made-to-order grain bowls and pita wraps will take over a vacant standalone bank building in the busy Federal Road corridor, pending state transportation department approval.
Cava, known for signature dishes such as honey chicken and avocado with jalapeño-infused feta dip and hot chili paste vinaigrette, has the green light from Brookfield to take over the former Bank of America building in the shopping plaza anchored by B.J.’s Wholesale Club and Starbucks.
Article continues below this ad
“Cava restaurant is Middle Eastern cuisine that’s classified as fast food although it is not your typical fast food with a drive-thru order board and so on,” said Dainius Virbickas, an engineer representing Cava, during a Thursday night public hearing. “What Cava does is similar to what Chipotle has done where millennials and old folks like me can order online … and drive up to the window and pick up your food. There’re no boards involved so there’s really no need for stacking of vehicles like you would have for a place just up [Federal Road] at Chick-fil-A, where they’ve got double lanes and they’re jammed all the way.”
Minimal renovations are planned for the one-story bank building, just north of the Candlewood Lake Road intersection, since a drive-thru window is already installed.
“What we are proposing to do for the most part is kind of sweep up and move into the existing building,” Virbickas told Brookfield’s Planning and Zoning Commission during the hearing. “We are bumping the asphalt out just a smidge on the northeast corner of the building to provide a 20-foot-wide drive aisle which would facilitate a both pickup window and [room] for people to bypass should they need to.”
Article continues below this ad
The newest Cava, which could open as soon as next summer, would be the seventh location in Connecticut for the fast-casual chain, after Danbury, Greenwich, Westport, Shelton, Newington and Glastonbury.
“Primarily what they’re looking to do is a fresh coat of paint on the brick building,” Virbickas said. “They want to put up some awnings which are basically wood projecting out that looks like a deck that’s not finished –”
“Kind of like a pergola,” said Curtis Timmerman, chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Article continues below this ad
“They want an awning similar to that on the northeast corner,” Virbickas said. “A similar pergola treatment is proposed on the south side.”
The Cava proposal has already gotten permission from Brookfield’s Zoning Board of Appeals and the town’s wetlands commission.
“Basically, it’s an improvement,” Virbickas said during the Thursday hearing, adding that there would be up to 42 dining room seats. “There’re no flashing signs. Less than half of the interior floor is for seating. The rest [of the space] is behind the wall where the magic happens — where the food gets prepped.”
The location is in the heart of Brookfield’s Federal Road commercial corridor with an annualized daily average of 17,000 drivers, according to the state transportation department’s latest publicly available count. Anchored by supermarkets and retail chains, Brookfield’s Federal Road draws more average daily traffic than Danbury’s Mill Plain Road.
Article continues below this ad
“All of my concerns are related to traffic. That’s a busy area,” said Geoff Hunton, a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. “You’re right near the intersection with Candlewood Lake and Federal [roads] which has the highest accident rate of anywhere in the town. I have been to Cava, and I know that the ones I’ve been to at lunch time can get very busy.”
“Luckily, we’ve got that B.J.’s stop [light] there, so it’s got traffic control,” Timmerman said of the shopping plaza’s main entrance.
Fellow commission member Mark Loewengart asked what the state traffic department review would include.
“Is this something the DOT will address when you meet with them? Loewengart asked. ‘I noticed there is no stop sign [at the bank building exit]. Is that something you would add? ’
Article continues below this ad
“We can certainly put in a stop sign for sure,” Virbickas said.
The Planning and Zoning Commission gave the plan to reuse the bank its unanimous approval.
“I’m glad it’s finally being used,” Timmerman said. “[Cava] will probably be more intensive car-wise than the bank was because nobody goes to the bank anymore.”
Article continues below this ad
