Why Ron Shaich thinks Cava is prepared to be a public company

• He first invested in Cava when it was just a couple of stores, and helped negotiate its 2018 acquisition of struggling Zoe's Kitchen, which hyper-scaled Cava's business from 50 to 250 locations.
• Shaich runs investment firm Act III, whose portfolio companies also include Tatte Bakery and Café and Life Alive Organic Café.

What they're saying: At the BFD event, he told Axios' Dan Primack that the Cava management team has been preparing to be public and they are ready.

• "This business has a category in which it has the potential to own, which is dynamic and extraordinary," Shaich said of his Mediterranean fast-casual chain.

Primack asked about the differences between Sweetgreen and Cava noting Cava turned a profit last quarter and said "Sweetgreen hasn't turned a profit since well ever."

• "I'm an old-fashioned guy I came alive in business when you didn't go public until you were profitable," Shaich said. "It's a crazy world. That's not a company prepared to be public. That's not a company that should be public."