Cava Hopes Blue Wave Brings Lower Tariffs -- WSJ

By Heather Haddon

The restaurant industry has a wish list for what it would like to see with change coming to Congress, and loosening tariffs is towards the top.

Cava CEO Brett Schulman said the fast-casual chain has absorbed costs created by the higher tariffs on their ingredients this year, and he would gladly have a new Congress push to reduce the levies. Schulman said he would also like political rhetoric to become less divisive in the country post election.

"A lot of business leaders hope that this now is the beginning of a softer tone," Schulman said in an interview Wednesday.

Cava has continued to post sales growth, with third-quarter same-store sales increasing 3.1%. The chain's restaurant margins have taken a hit, though, as it tries to keep price increases low despite inflation. The company said Wednesday that an increase in labor and delivery costs lowered its quarterly store margins. Shares fell about 7% afterhours.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 04, 2026 16:29 ET (21:29 GMT)