3 eateries are set for Chestnut St. in Rittenhouse

That low-slung stretch of storefronts in the 1700 block of Chestnut Street in Rittenhouse, across from Sephora and Gran Caffe L'Aquila, will be filled with food in coming months.

As you face the stores, to the left will be a Paris Baguette, a bakery cafe, at 1717 Chestnut. Next to it, replacing Buffalo Exchange, will be a new branch of the University City hot spot specialist Ochatto. To its right will be Cava, a Mediterranean fast-casual making its debut in the area. To the right are the existing businesses: GNC, Ciao Pizza, and Chestnut Street Philly Bagels.

Paris Baguette and Ochatto are expected to open by the end of the year, said Paige Jaffe with CBRE, whose office handled the transaction.

Also in progress across the street is the Indo-Chinese chain Inchin's Bamboo Garden, at 1726 Chestnut St.

Cava, due in early 2019, is a company on the move.

D.C.-based CEO Brett Schulman is a Main Line native who attended Bala Cynwyd for middle school and would have attended Lower Merion High had his family not relocated. He announced over the summer that Cava was planning to buy Zoes Kitchen in a deal valued at about $300 million. The sale is expected to be consummated soon.

Cava rep Ben Famous explained that while Zoes offers a set menu of items, Cava follows the cafeteria-style, order-what-you-wish model. Cava also sells a line of dips in Whole Foods Markets.

Also, Cava plans to open a second area location in Suburban Square in Ardmore next summer.