Photo by Erin Nelson
Zoë’s Kitchen in Crestline VIllage in Mountain Brook, Alabama.
For the Cassimus family, entrepreneurial pursuits are part of their livelihood.
Marcus and Zoë Cassimus started their fast-casual restaurant concept, Zoë’s Kitchen, in the late 1990’s. Their son John knew they were onto something and refused to back down from a challenge.
“In 1999, I was getting ready to start up another business, and through some advice of some mentors and my own thoughts, I ended up taking over my mom’s small business,” he said. “My parents didn’t want me to do it — they thought I should be in New York on Wall Street in finance. I decided to do it, and I had to do it on my own. It was ultimately the company that went public and grew to over 260-plus restaurants around the United States.”
Cassimus says his path to success was not a linear one. In the early years of Zoë’s Kitchen, the growth was slow.
“We had to open stores with cash,” he said. “We weren’t able to get financing or anything. It was very difficult. We did it as inexpensively as we could.”
But he never gave up. Throughout the early 2000s, John said, the company went through a rebranding and an introduction of investors, and it ultimately went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.
“From the time the company went public until they were forced to sell the company back to the private market, they were suffering significantly financially,” he said. “They were purchased by a company called CAVA in 2019. Their plan was to grow their concept [CAVA] alongside the Zoë’s concept.”
The Cava Group Inc., based in Washington, D.C., acquired the Zoe's Kitchen brand for $300 million.
Things were looking up for the Zoë’s Kitchen brand until the pandemic hit in 2020.
“That really derailed their plans,” he said. “They had to shut down a significant number of stores that weren’t performing well. As they reopened stores, and things tried to get back to normal in 2021, they made the decision to shelve the brand and close down all the Zoë’s that weren’t going to be converted into CAVAs.”
Cassimus said that he and his family became friends with the people who run the CAVA brand, and he even occasionally enjoys a meal in the Homewood location.
So how did the Zoë’s Kitchen resurrection come about?
“They called me about six or seven months ago and said that the brand was going to be put to bed permanently, and I had an idea that I felt like the brand should stay alive, especially in Birmingham,” he said. “I have an agreement to be able to come and operate here in Birmingham and open this store and see what kind of success we’re going to have when we go back to the original.”
What is the relationship now between Zoë’s Kitchen and CAVA? Cassimus shared that the CAVA Group still owns the intellectual rights to the brand, but they have given the Cassimus family permission to open and maintain a store in the Crestline area.
“It’s in its original location,” he said. “It’s going to be right here, just like it was back in the day. The fact that I was able to end up with this store is super satisfying.”
He said what sets Zoë’s Kitchen apart from other fast-casual restaurants in the area is getting back to the basics. Their goal is to return to their original purpose of sharing fresh, healthy food with the community.
According to his personal social media accounts, the video he shared on Facebook announcing the return of Zoë’s Kitchen has reached over 47,000 users, with 987 comments and 200 shares.
“Ninety-nine percent of the menu items people are asking for are the original menu items,” Cassimus said. “Thousands of comments are all about the original menu. There is a lot of pent-up demand for the brand. There is a lot of excitement.”
So what about the Cassimus matriarch and patriarch? Cassimus says Marcus and Zoë are excited to be involved in this reopening process and plan to work in the restaurant wherever they are needed.
The impact of the original Zoë’s Kitchen is still being felt today. Cassimus shared that employees who worked for him over 20 years ago have asked to be brought back on again when they reopen for business.
“I’ve had so many of them wanting to come back and work for me,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for my workers. It makes me feel extremely proud that they want to come back and work with me and my family.”
