Cava plans to open at former site of Taïm in East Farmingdale
Cava is seeking to open at this spot in East Farmingdale. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
A national Mediterranean-inspired chain restaurant is looking to take over an East Farmingdale spot that just last year housed a similarly-themed restaurant.
Cava, which on its website states its mission is to bring “heart, health and humanity to food” and to “always make it Mediterranean,” wants to take over the site of what had been Taïm on the west side of Route 110, north of Michael Avenue. A public hearing was held last week before the Town of Babylon Planning Board to consider Cava’s application.
Taïm, which opened in the same space in 2023 and closed two years later, is a fast-casual Mediterranean-style mini-chain with locations in several states. East Farmingdale was its first foray onto Long Island.
Cava, which has hundreds of restaurants around the country, has a similar build-your-own concept, where patrons can create their own bowls, pitas and salads with different grains, vegetables and proteins. This would mark the chain’s fourth Long Island spot, with restaurants in Melville, East Northport and Woodbury.
“They’re starting to pop up everywhere; they’re a very popular restaurant,” Kevin Reim, permit manager for Bohler Engineering in Melville, told the board.
Reim said that “nothing aside from the tenant name will change” on the facade of the building and that the seating capacity in the 1,142-square-foot space would remain 40, as it was with Taïm.
“They’ve just started slowly making their way onto Long Island like everyone else,” Reim told Newsday about Cava after the hearing. “It’s a … very well-run organization.”
Reim said Cava will “gut the whole space and put their touches on it,” but the building would otherwise remain the same.
The planning board also held a hearing on the application of Fore & Pour to open a golf simulator and bar/restaurant in the Great South Bay shopping center in West Babylon.
The owners are seeking to change the use of a 6,750-square-foot retail space there. They announced earlier this year that they planned to have eight golf simulators, more than 20 TV screens, a 41-foot bar with 19 stools, and seating for 36 dining patrons.
The public hearings were closed but the record remains open for comments on both proposed restaurants.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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