Bio

Jeff Gaul is currently Chief Development Officer at CAVA

CAVA is the category-defining Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand bringing together healthful food and bold, satisfying flavors at scale across the United States.


In this capacity, Jeff is responsible for developing the CAVA growth strategy and scalable business plan to meet or exceed both short and long-term real estate targets and key enterprise initiatives.


He and his team develop the roadmap that connects real estate growth plans with restaurant design concepts that maximize investments through a thoughtful, well-articulated strategic financial plan.

His team at CAVA oversee all aspects of development execution including scope creation, budgetary planning, ROI governance, restaurant design, construction, lease negotiation, lease administration, development services, strategic sourcing, real estate strategy and facilities maintenance.

Prior to joining CAVA, Jeff served as the head of Global Store Development at Nike. Additionally, he was the SVP of Store Development for North America at Sephora, the LVMH owned leader in beauty retail.  Jeff also served as SVP of Global Store Development at Chico’s FAS, Inc. for over 10 years in a variety of roles each with increased scope and responsibility. In addition, Jeff held real estate leadership roles with Core Power Yoga, part of the L Catterton private equity portfolio, L Brands, Gap Inc., and Books-A-Million.

Additionally, Jeff is a past State Retail Chairman, current Board Trustee and an active speaker for the International Council of Shopping Centers

Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida and is the proud father of two adult daughters.

Great projects happen where design inspires, development empowers, and finance sustains—the intersection of vision, execution, and discipline.
— Jeff Gaul