CAVA is coming to Worcester as part of new shopping center

Article by Rachel Gow of Worcester Telegram & Gazette, published July 6, 2026. 

WORCESTER – A Natick-based development group is proposing a new shopping plaza off of Grove Street that will feature chain restaurants CAVA and First Watch.

Plans for the site – a nearly 3-acre lot at 278 Grove St. – include three buildings, totaling over 17,000 square feet of commercial space and a 152-car parking lot, according to a proposal the developer, Stonegate Group, submitted to the Planning Board.

Approval for the plans is pending a public hearing at the next Planning Board meeting Wednesday, July 15.

Two side-by-side restaurants, at 3,700 square feet and 2,580 square feet, are proposed at 278-284 Grove St., according to site plans. A five-tenant, 10,820-square-foot building is slotted for the other side of the lot at 4 Powers Court. The building will house two additional restaurants and three office spaces.

The parking lot is planned for the space between the two storefronts, with entrances on Grove and Brookfield streets, according to site plans.

In a social media post, the developer revealed two of the proposed tenants: The restaurants CAVA and First Watch.

“Introducing two new dining options to the community, we hope Worcester is just as excited about CAVA and First Watch as we are!” the developer wrote on social media.

CAVA, a popular Maryland-based chain, serves Mediterranean fare in an assembly-line style. Currently, the closest CAVA to Worcester is in Framingham.

First Watch is a Florida-based restaurant chain. The menu features classic American fare.

The Trolley Yard Plaza is located just across the street from the planning site at 315 Grove St. and houses several fast casual-dining spots.

The Stonegate Group purchased the Grove Street land in 2022. The former tenant was the manufacturer Bodycote Processing Inc., which treated and processed metal for the auto and aerospace industries.

The developer has already engaged a contractor for demolition of the lot’s existing structures, according to its website.

Before Bodycote, the spot was home for many years to Lindberg Heat Treating. The business, with a bank of large furnaces, hardened metal products for the automotive and other industries. It had an address of 284 Grove St., in a cluster of buildings opposite what was then a maintenance facility of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority.