With the opening of Houston TX Hot Chicken in Riverton, the entrepreneurial couple celebrate a career cornerstone of 100 Utah restaurants – more than any other restauranter in the state
In 2008, at the height of the recession, Andrew and Shauna Smith broke ground on their first restaurant in Lehi, Utah.
Sixteen years later, they’re making history with a groundbreaking 100th restaurant in the Beehive State and investing over $125,000,000 in restaurant real estate development.
The delicious milestone has been a labor of love — and food — for the Smiths. From Four Foods Group, a restaurant development company they owned from 2008 to 2018, to now Savory Fund, a private equity firm that invests in emerging restaurant concepts, Andrew and Shauna have truly become operators at their core.
“We’re incredibly proud to hit 100 restaurants right here at home,” said Andrew K. Smith, managing partner at Savory. “We have owned and operated more than 400 restaurants across the country, which is unbelievable. But there is something profoundly special about building up your own backyard, developing this land, and creating these jobs. We feel energized to contribute to an ecosystem we love so much — and to do so with good food is just icing on the cake. These 100 restaurants are just the beginning. I am always on the lookout for our next spot here in Utah.”
Savory is currently invested in 11 brands across 11 states, with more than 180 units open and operating, and many of which are Utah flavor favorites: Swig, Mo’ Bettahs, R&R BBQ, Houston TX Hot Chicken, Via 313, and newcomer Hash Kitchen.
What’s more, Savory hosts Restaurantology, an annual conference in Salt Lake City for 700+ operators across the country. It’s free to attend, and it’s a way for Savory to give back and offer industry tips, tricks, and advice for growth-minded restauranteurs.
“In our world, food is love — meaning it truly brings people together and there’s always a seat at our table,” said Shauna K. Smith, CEO of Savory. “We have been blessed to work with incredible founders and brands, and it’s been an honor to grow our concepts up and down the Wasatch front. But the coolest part? The Utah food scene is just heating up — and so are we.”
“With the opening of 100 restaurants in Utah, Andrew and Shauna Smith have now solidified themselves as the most prolific restauranteurs in the history of the state,” added Tyson Moore, senior vice president, Colliers Utah. “This is an incredible achievement given the complexity of expanding different restaurant brands with varying menus, operations, and real estate needs. Through the ups and downs of economic cycles, they’ve continued to grow their popular brands — and all of us Utahns are the beneficiaries. I have been honored to assist in their real estate growth since store No. 1 and witness Andrew and Shauna’s ‘restaurant vision’ firsthand. I can’t wait to see what exciting new brands they grow in Utah in the coming years.”
Savory is an innovative private equity firm that combines over $750 million in assets under management with a growth playbook and expertise that has been developed over 16 years of operating in the restaurant industry. Savory partners with high-potential, profitable, emerging restaurant brands, to deliver financial capital, industry expertise, growth and revenue opportunities, profitability enhancements and new location development. The Savory team contributes directly to all aspects of growth and replication by using a proven playbook and methodology. Founder involvement in the expansion of a brand is a central theme of the Savory approach as founders carry the tribal knowledge around the uniqueness that has energized early success and is essential to future growth. Savory is currently invested in the following brands: Swig, R&R BBQ, PINCHO, Via 313 Pizzeria, Mo’ Bettahs Hawaiian Style Food, 86 Repairs, Saigon Hustle, Hash Kitchen, The Sicilian Butcher, Houston TX Hot Chicken, and now South Block. For more information, visit SavoryFund.com.
