Cava Group (CAVA -0.05%) is a relatively publicly new traded restaurant company specializing in Mediterranean cuisine served in a fast-casual style. On the menu, diners will find options made with feta cheese, falafel, hummus, tzatziki, and other items that aren't typically found when eating out.

Consumers are rallying behind the Cava brand at a head-turning pace. Consider that the company's restaurants generate $2.6 million in annual sales per location, on average -- and that's very high. In 2023, the company's same-store sales went up nearly 18% year over year in a clear sign of consumer demand.

These same consumers are demanding more food from Cava, but the company only had 309 locations at the end of 2023 from which to serve them. But since the demand is clearly there, management has set an ambitious long-term goal: By 2032, it hopes to have 1,000 Cava locations.

Growing to 1,000 locations won't be simple. The company will need to have infrastructure in place to support that many restaurants because all of them are company-owned. With this background, there's some good news for investors today: Cava just made a move that will support its growth through the end of the decade.

The path to 2030 for Cava

The company plans to open about 50 new locations in 2024, which is incredible 16% year-over-year unit growth. But to get to 1,000 restaurants by 2032, its pace won't be able to slow much. Assuming it keeps up its pace to hit its goal for 2032, the company would have 750 places in 2030.

Cava now has some of the infrastructure it needs to get it to 750 locations. In February, it opened a new food-prep facility in Virginia. And according to co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman, it's big enough to support that many restaurants.

To be clear, a lot of Cava's food is prepared in the restaurants, but restaurants need to be fast and labor-efficient. Therefore, it makes sense to prepare some things in a centralized location when possible. For Cava, this includes making dressings and dips at its Virginia facility -- products it also sells in grocery stores.

By being labor efficient and fast enough to handle high sales volume, Cava has really good restaurant-level profit margins. In 2023, its restaurant-level margin was 25% -- and it doesn't get much better than this in the restaurant space. If the company can keep margins high, it has a lot of potential as it expands to 1,000 locations.

What now for Cava investors?

A food-prep facility isn't the only key to Cava's future success but is an important component. Investors should be encouraged when thinking about the chain's future growth potential. Management is making the moves now to make growth happen for many years.

Going forward, it will still be important for investors to monitor Cava's same-store sales and restaurant-level profit margins. With same-store sales, there may be times of slow growth or even small declines -- that's fine. But sharp drops could indicate cooling consumer demand, and it would call into question the long-term goal of 1,000 locations.

With restaurant-level profits, Cava shareholders should watch to make sure they're steady. The company is entering new markets that could have different less favorable economics. And inflation is still an issue in the restaurant space. A sharp decline in restaurant-level profits might indicate that the company is no longer able to pass on higher costs to consumers.

For now, these two metrics look great for Cava. And assuming they stay strong, this will be one of the more exciting emerging-restaurant brands to watch in the coming years.