Ahead of opening, restaurant raises money for charity

As they prepared for their big debut, the workers at Frederick’s newest restaurant branch got one more dress rehearsal Thursday.

A new CAVA restaurant along Md. 26 on the northern side of the city will officially open Friday.

The restaurant has about 40 employees, who have been training for about two weeks for the restaurant’s opening, said Marc Backer, CAVA’s regional director for the mid-Atlantic region.

The restaurant, on Shorebird Street in Frederick’s Market Square shopping center off Md. 26, will be the chain’s second around the city, along with a location on Spectrum Drive near Francis Scott Key Mall.

CAVA provides a variety of salads, pita sandwiches, bowls, and other Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

On Thursday, the restaurant’s staff got one final run-through, working lunch and dinner shifts to help them get experience on filling customers’ orders.

Employees worked along the counter, scooping up rice, diced chicken, and other ingredients as experienced trainers watched, available to answer any questions or explain how to make certain dishes.

The goal was to simulate how things will actually work as much as possible, Backer said.

Maria Mendoza, the store’s general manager, said she was excited for the official opening Friday.

The biggest challenge in getting the staff ready has just been getting to know everyone and getting them comfortable and secure in what they’re doing, she said.

Mendoza said she had worked two years at the Spectrum Drive location.

Customers who registered for the event could donate money to the charity Food Rescue US, which transfers extra food supplies to people suffering from food insecurity.

“We’re giving [the staff] reps, and we’re also supporting the community at the same time,” Backer said.

About 450 people signed up for the event, between both lunch and dinner, he said.

CAVA would match up to $1,000 in donations, he said.

The company was not able to share how much money had been raised during the lunch shift, spokeswoman Sarah Seale wrote in an email Thursday afternoon.

Customer Leona Clark, who lives in the nearby Market Square community, said she was pleased that the store is opening so close to her house.

Clark said she sometimes goes to the other location, but this one will be much more convenient.

“This is amazing. I’m super happy about it. I’m sure the neighborhood is, too,” she said.