Mediterranean Restaurant Chain Submits Plan for State College Area Location

A chain of fast-casual Mediterranean restaurants is eyeing a new location in the State College area.

Cava submitted a land development plan to Patton Township on Dec. 6 for a 2,500-square-foot restaurant to be constructed at the Patton Crossing development along North Atherton Street.

The building would front North Atherton Street and would be accessed via the development’s entry boulevard and Meridian Street. Plans from project engineer PennTerra show 40 parking spaces at the rear of the restaurant.

It would be located on the opposite side of the entry road from Aldi, which opened in 2021 and was the first of nearly 20 buildings planned for Patton Crossing. The development is expected to include retail, residential and hotel properties constructed over a period of about 20 years. Plans were previously proposed for a bank near where Cava would be located, but it has not been built.

Cava opened its first restaurant in 2010 in Maryland and now has more than 340 locations in 26 states. In Pennsylvania, it has nine restaurants, all in the eastern half of the state and most in the Philadelphia area.

The chain’s menu features a wide variety of bowls, pitas, dips and beverages.

It was not immediately clear when the land development plan for Cava’s proposed Patton Crossing location would be reviewed by the Patton Township Planning Commission, which is next scheduled to meet on Jan. 13.