Updated:
Savory Fund
Savory Fund was co-founded by husband-and-wife team Andrew K.
Savory Fund
Savory Fund was co-founded by husband-and-wife team Andrew K. Smith and Shauna Smith, who spent over a decade developing, acquiring, and operating more than 530 restaurants across 27 states before institutionalizing their approach under the Savory banner. The firm emerged from the couple's earlier restaurant platform, Four Foods Group, which they built into a $140M revenue business by 2017. Savory now operates from Lehi, Utah, deploying a dedicated, 80-person value-creation team of supply-chain chiefs, marketing directors, real estate developers, and HR specialists directly into its portfolio companies. The firm runs a concentrated buy-and-build strategy almost exclusively within the fast-casual and QSR space, targeting emerging brands with strong regional followings and founder-led cultures. Portfolio companies span beverage (Swig, founded 2010), Hawaiian BBQ (Mo' Bettahs, founded 2008), Nashville hot chicken (Houston TX Hot Chicken, founded 2021), Detroit-style pizza (Via 313, founded 2011), Asian street food (Hawkers, founded 2011), and brunch (Hash Kitchen), among others. The firm writes equity checks out of a committed fund structure — $100M Fund I (2018), $100M Fund II (2021), and a $110M first close on Fund III in December 2025 — with geographic concentration across the Mountain West, Southeast, and Texas. Savory is led operationally by CEO Clay Dover, formerly of Velvet Taco, where he grew the brand from 4 to 54 units before its sale from L Catterton to Leonard Green & Partners in 2021. President Tyler Nelson and Chief Supply Chain Officer Maryam Chaney round out a platform team that claims to purchase over $70M in product annually across the portfolio. In May 2025, the firm appointed Shauna Smith as Managing Director alongside her co-founder role, with Clay Dover stepping in as Platform CEO — a move that signals an operational succession beyond the founding couple while keeping them central to strategy. What distinguishes Savory structurally is its insistence on being an operator first and an investor second. The firm does not passively allocate capital; it embeds a functional management layer into each brand covering real estate, construction, procurement, recruiting, and marketing — replicating a scaled corporate holding structure for what would otherwise be standalone founder-run concepts. This hybrid PE-operating-platform model effectively turns Savory into a centralized multi-brand restaurant group, with the fund serving as its capital vehicle rather than its defining identity.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
—
AUM
Over $750M in assets (per firm website)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Lehi
Corporate office
Lehi, UT, United States
Principals
Andrew K. Smith
Managing Director & Co-founder
Shauna Smith
Managing Director & Co-founder
Clay Dover
CEO
Tyler Nelson
President
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Savory Fund?
Andrew K. Smith, Shauna Smith, and the investment team — including Director Taylor DeHart, Principal Matt Durham, and Principal Rob Gardner — evaluate and execute deals. The firm's website states that its investment team is laser-focused on portfolio profitability, portability, and partnership alignment.
How does Savory Fund source proprietary deal flow?
Savory leverages founder relationships, its operational track record, and market scouting by a team with deep restaurant-industry networks. Its principals have collectively overseen 530+ restaurants across 27 states, which creates connectivity in the emerging-brand ecosystem. The firm also runs a dedicated investor and public relations function to amplify brand awareness and attract inbound opportunities from founders.
Is Savory Fund structured as a family office or a private equity firm?
Savory operates as a private equity firm, not a family office. It raised committed capital from external limited partners for Fund I ($100M, 2018), Fund II ($100M, 2021), and Fund III ($110M first close, December 2025), and it pursues institutional returns by scaling restaurant concepts for eventual exit or harvest.
Does Savory Fund participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Savory executes direct, control-oriented equity investments in consumer-facing restaurant brands. The firm does not appear to commit to third-party funds or run a fund-of-funds program — capital is deployed directly into operating companies where it can embed its in-house management platform.
What investment stages does Savory Fund typically target?
Savory targets emerging, founder-led restaurant brands that are already operating and generating revenue, typically with a handful of locations and strong regional followings. It steps in as both a growth-equity investor and an operational partner, building out multi-site footprints rather than funding pre-revenue concepts.
How is Savory Fund related to Four Foods Group?
Four Foods Group was the restaurant investment and management company founded by the Smiths. Savory Fund effectively institutionalized that earlier operating platform — many of Savory's senior leaders, including President Tyler Nelson, previously held roles at Four Foods Group, which generated over $140M in revenue before the transition.
Does Savory Fund maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
The firm does not publicly disclose a dedicated philanthropic structure or foundation. Its portfolio brand South Block operates a nonprofit called Fruitful Planet that provides fresh produce to underserved communities, but this is a brand-specific initiative rather than a firm-level philanthropic vehicle.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: