Sam Fox exits Fox Restaurant Concepts, will focus on hotel, culinary ventures

Sam Fox, the eponymous founder of Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts⁠, has left the company.

Fox, who departed on Oct. 30, plans on focusing his attention on his other hospitality and restaurant company, Author & Edit Hospitality, which is the brand he used to develop and run the Global Ambassador hotel in Phoenix.

Fox’s departure comes seven years after Fox Restaurant Concepts (FRC⁠) was sold to The Cheesecake Factory for more than $350 million. In an interview with the Business Journal, Fox said he knew that some point after the transaction he would have to depart, but he actually stayed a bit longer because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s time for me to focus on things that I own 100% of and work on some growth of the hotels and maybe a few restaurants,” Fox said. “Also, its time for the team at Fox Restaurants to take the reins and show us what they can do.”

Fox started FRC nearly 30 years ago and grew it to 22 brands, with 170 restaurants across the country and had a team of more than 9,000 employees. While he has played a critical role in the development of the company, he said he’s confident in FRC’s future.

“I think there’s a really bright future for what’s happening at Fox Restaurants, but also at Cheesecake and all the brands that they’re going to own and control,” Fox said.

This story is posted in partnership with Phoenix Business Journal. Click to read the full story.

Related

5,300-acre West Valley development scales back to focus on homesAngie’s plans to more than double footprint to 70 locations by end of 2028$125M Atari Hotel in downtown Phoenix moves closer to reality as demolition beginsVirgin Galactic’s Apeiron spaceship departs Arizona factory for testingNew World screwworm was detected in Arizona. What does that mean for beef prices?Honeywell Aerospace plans $500 million Tempe factory, touts 600 new jobs