CAVA, a Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand, announced the official opening of a new, state-of-the-art food production and packaging facility in Verona, Va., located two hours outside Washington D.C., in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.

As part of its ongoing work to build a scalable infrastructure to support its growth, the company made an initial investment of approximately $35 million in the facility, which manufactures CAVA’s proprietary dips and spreads, including tzatziki, harissa and Crazy Feta, as well as select dressings. Along with an existing facility in Laurel, Md., the Verona operation can support at least 750 restaurants and the expansion of CAVA’s consumer packaged goods business.

“CAVA Foods Verona is part of a vertically integrated model that supports our business now and over the long term. By centrally producing our dips and spreads, we reduce complexity in our restaurants, improve costs overall, and maintain the quality, consistency and integrity of our chef-crafted recipes at scale,” says Brett Schulman, cofounder and CEO. “We’re excited to be part of the Verona community and grateful for our ongoing partnership with Augusta County and the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The Verona facility has the capacity to produce more than 100,000 pounds of product a day using high-pressure processing, a cold pasteurization technology that retains the flavor and nutritional benefits of CAVA’s fresh ingredients with no preservatives.

The facility also features ecological landscaping, airy, welcoming spaces for team members, and a custom, state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly CO₂ refrigeration system that cools production and warehouse spaces.