Recent food-safety scares have cut into restaurants’ traffic. Cava Group is no exception, but the Mediterranean fast-casual chain bounced back quickly thanks to its varied menu and a food-safety advisory council aimed at protecting its customers. First came reports this summer of cyclosporiasis, a gastrointestinal food-borne illness.

Federal health officials have linked one outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce from a Mexican supplier for Taco Bell restaurants. And early this month, public-health authorities said they were investigating a salmonella outbreak associated with jalapeños served at certain restaurants. Chains including Cava have said food-safety challenges weighed on demand.

At Cava, sales started to slip around the end of its quarter ended July 12 because of recent cyclospora outbreaks. However, as concerns about the parasite eased over the following weeks, sales recovered, returning to mid-single-digit growth by early August, finance chief Tricia Tolivar shared with me. The chain hasn’t seen impacts from the salmonella outbreak as of mid-August.

To mitigate risk, Cava relies on its advisory council made up of three food-safety experts. It meets regularly with Cava insiders to advise on topics such as how to safely add seafood to the menu, which is an allergen for some, Tolivar said. While Cava chose not to launch an explicit campaign distancing itself from affected suppliers—the chain doesn’t source leafy greens from Mexico or jalapeños from associated farms—employees were armed with that information to share with customers, the CFO said.

Cava’s menu variety also didn’t hurt. Guests worried about greens switched to grains and pitas for a period, Tolivar said. "The menu allowed consumers to feel good about the choices they were making and have flexibility if there were things that they were concerned about.".