Panera And Cava Made Him A Billionaire. Here’s What He’s Cooking Up Now.

Forbes

Ron Shaich opened his first bakery at 26 years old. In the decades since, he’s made a killing as a food fortune teller, discovering and bringing to market some of America’s biggest restaurant brands. Here’s what he thinks is next.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2025/05/31/panera-and-cava-made-him-a-billionaire-heres-what-hes-cooking-up-now/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, Panera and Kava made him a billionaire. Here's what he's cooking up now.

00:08Ron Shaikh looks relaxed. It's partly due to his surroundings. The billionaire restaurateur

00:13is reclining in the home office of his vacation pad in Jumbie Bay, a private island off the coast

00:19of Antigua. The 71-year-old Shaikh is also in his element because he's discussing his favorite

00:24subject, the winner-takes-all world of American dining. He declares, quote, the restaurant

00:31business is dirt farming. He says that it's mostly muck, but every now and again, you can strike gold

00:37if you can dig up something special. He says, quote, what I love is when I figure it out before

00:43anybody else. For more than four decades, Shaikh has notched a string of huge wins doing just that.

00:50In 1981, he bought a majority steak in a small, three-location bakery cafe chain named Au Bon Pain.

00:57Twelve years later, he merged it with a slightly larger, 20-store chain called St. Louis Bread Co.,

01:04now known as Panera Bread. Shaikh ran Panera as CEO until 2017, when he oversaw its $7.5 billion sale

01:12to German conglomerate JAB Holdings, pocketing $300 million after taxes from the transaction.

01:18Then he set up Miami-based Act III Holdings, named to represent the third act in his career,

01:25and invested around $175 million into the fast-casual Mediterranean chain, Kava.

01:32The gamble on Kava is Shaikh's most lucrative to date. The company went public in 2023 at a valuation

01:39of nearly $5 billion. Its market cap is now $9.4 billion, making it more valuable than Panera at the

01:46time of its sale to JAB, despite Kava having a fifth as many locations. Shaikh, who was Kava's

01:53largest shareholder when it went public and currently serves as the brand's chairman, became a billionaire

01:59in the IPO. Forbes estimates the mogul is now worth $1.3 billion after selling $640 million worth of stock,

02:07pre-tax, since the public offering, and retaining a 4% stake in the fast-growing company.

02:12That type of success may be enough to prompt some people to call for the check. Not Shaikh.

02:19He says he cashed out a majority of his Kava stake because his position was too concentrated. Or as he

02:24put it, continuing the farmer analogy, quote, I want to harvest my crop when people fall in love with it

02:30and the valuations are way up. Shaikh had good timing, selling more than 60% of his 11.7 million

02:37Kava shares in 2024, before the stock fell 30% this year. Analysts blame broader market concerns

02:45rather than the company's individual performance. Now Shaikh's looking to deploy his war chest to back

02:50the next winning restaurant concept, and he has a few ideas of what that might be.

02:54Freeing up the capital has allowed Act III to invest more aggressively in its other businesses,

03:01Shaikh says. The most promising among them, Tate, also dates back to Shaikh's time at Panera,

03:07when he acquired a majority stake in the business on behalf of Panera. Shaikh ended up negotiating

03:12to take over ownership of Tate as part of his exit package. Tate sells a wide-ranging menu of pastries,

03:18breakfast and lunch dishes, and artisanal coffees inspired by Israeli, North African and Lebanese

03:24cuisine. Another big Act III investment is Level 99, which operates two interactive playgrounds for

03:31adults that challenges visitors to compete in 50, quote, physical and mental challenges set in

03:36artistic environments, such as a ninja dojo, an Aztec temple, and a museum heist. In January, Act III also

03:44made its first investment in a new restaurant business since the firm was founded. After a year

03:49of discussions, the company picked up a stake in Honest Greens, a Barcelona-based eatery selling,

03:55quote, loaded avocado toast, blueberry chia pudding, and other healthy meals sourced locally to its 30

04:01European restaurants. The Act III team views this as an opportunity to grow in the more nascent European

04:07fast-casual market. For full coverage, check out Jemima McAvoy's piece on Forbes.com.

04:16This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

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