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Media mogul Oprah Winfrey last July made an equity investment in True Food Kitchen, which Sam Fox created in 2008.
Winfrey, who has investments in television, movies and publishing, was first introduced to the brand by fitness expert Bob Greene, a business associate, said Christine Barone, CEO of True Food Kitchen, which now has about 30 locations.
Fox founded True Food Kitchen with wellness author Dr. Andrew Weil. It was named a Nation’s Restaurant News Hot Concept in 2011.
P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc. in 2009 provided a $10 million credit facility to fund the brand’s growth and in February 2012 agreed to acquire a majority interest in the then-four-unit concept.
In July 2012, P.F. Chang’s completed its $1.1 billion sale, including the stake in True Food Kitchen brand, to New York-based Centerbridge Partners L.P., which maintains its ownership in the health-oriented brand.
The most recent True Food units are about 6,000 square feet with seating for about 200, including patios.
Fox Restaurant Concepts sold its fast-casual brand in January 2015 to Sauce Holdings LLC, an investment group led by Phoenix restaurateur Scott Kilpatrick, a co-founder of RA Sushi.
Fox Restaurant Concepts opened Sauce in 2003 and grew it to nine units before selling it to the investment group. Fox retained one Sauce unit at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
The menu offers signature and create-your-own pizzas and a selection of salads and pastas with wines by the bottle and by the glass.
The company now has expanded to New Mexico and Texas.
Fox Restaurant Concepts defines The Henry as “the greatest neighborhood restaurant, a place where you can always count on a warm welcome from baristas, servers and bartenders who know your order by heart.”
The third location of this breakfast, lunch, dinner and bar concept opened in early 2019 in a multi-use development north of downtown Dallas, following a unit in West Hollywood, Calif., last year.
The two more recent restaurants have larger bars and patios than the original in Phoenix, which got its name from a bathroom fixture by Waterworks called The Henry.
“I looked at the fixture and it felt like what we were doing at the restaurant; how we were designing the inside,” Fox said in an origin story. “It was old, it was new, it was sort of post-modern meets Ralph Lauren. That really was the inspiration for the name and restaurant. It was that water fixture, which is kind of crazy. Like I said, I don’t have a formula. It just sort of happens.”
The Cheesecake Factory Inc. made minority equity investments in Fox Restaurant Concepts’ casual-dining North Italia and fast-casual Flower Child brands in November 2016.
Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts continued to manage the day-to-day operations, and the agreements allowed for The Cheesecake Factory to acquire a future majority or full ownership position in either or both concepts.
North Italia was founded in 2002, and Flower Child opened in 2014.
Fox Restaurant Concepts debuted Doughbird Pizza & Rotisserie in April 2017, offering Phoenix customers rotisserie meats with a selection of sides and sauces and organic-flour pizzas as well as appetizers, salads, sandwiches, desserts and a full bar.
“The rotisserie uses really high-quality meats, mostly chicken but we do a prime rib and some specials,” said Fox in an interview. “The pizzas are flavors that I loved growing up, so there are things like a crispy pastrami pizza — my dad had a Jewish deli when I was growing up, so I’m a big pastrami and corned beef guy. I’m basically using the pizza as a palette for high quality ingredients.”
The 5,500-square-foot new construction restaurant was more indulgent than Fox’s more recent concepts, he said. It has about 160 seats inside and between 50 and 60 on the patio.
