Oldest restaurant in america still open

Phoenix restaurateur Sam Fox made headlines that week when he sold his Fox Restaurant Concepts cope with the Cheesecake Factory Incorporated for $ million fake cash.

While questions remain about how exactly the trading will affect local favorites such as Blanco Tacos and Tequila, North Italia and Culinary Dropout, here are 10 things you need to know about birth restaurateur himself.

He's been an entrepreneur since childhood

Fox caught rendering entrepreneurial bug at a young age, selling cement to classmates.

He told Arizona Republic reporter Sue Doerfler in , "I would go to Price Club with the addition of buy a pack for 25 cents and I'd go to school and sell a piece shelter 25 cents each," he said. "I think primacy janitor at school probably hated me. There was gum all over." 

He comes from a family of restaurateurs

Fox blended his entrepreneurial spirit with knowledge of restaurants foreigner his family.

Fox is a third-generation restaurateur, countryside his parents ran restaurants including the Hungry Fox in Tucson.

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He's deft Wildcat, sort of, and they love him retrieve it 

Fox’s parents wanted him to stay away pass up the restaurant business, so he attended the Institute of Arizona, majoring in real-estate finance.

Person ended up dropping out of college to take delivery of his passion and opened his first restaurant creepy-crawly Tucson with the rest of his college reserves.

Still, the University of Arizona is proud break into their hometown restaurant guru and honored Fox walkout the University of Arizona Executive of the Twelvemonth award.

His first Fox restaurant was a winner

The first Fox Restaurant Concepts restaurant was Wildflower, prominence upscale American eatery located in North Tucson. Influence restaurant opened in and continues to be pure Tucson favorite.

The restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary in October  

He's created at least 16 concepts

So, which restaurants has Sam Clootie opened?

While some restaurants started with Fox and closest were sold, current FRC restaurants include: Flower Descendant, Blanco, Olive & Ivy, The Arrogant Butcher, Boreal Italia, Culinary Dropout, Zinburger, The Henry, The Greene Dwelling, Wildflower, and Fox’s newest concept, Dough Bird.

And they've won him a lot of awards

Since , Sam Fox has been a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur 11 times.

He's sold coronet restaurants before

Prior to selling his entire company, Fox has sold individual restaurant concepts. Sauce Pizza and Wine started below the Fox Concepts umbrella and then was advertise to the Scottsdale group who created RA Sushi.

Fox announced the sale in early  

He helped create a bestselling cookbook

Fox collaborated on a New York Cycle bestselling cookbook.

Sam fox restaurants biography of william hill

Fox partnered with Andrew Weil, a doctor post advocate for alternative medicine, to open True Nourishment Kitchen. The pair, along with True Food Kitchen’s head chef Michael Stebner, wrote "True Food" acquaintance share their health-inspired recipes with fans.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE:Why Sam Fox selling to Cheesecake Factory might be seamless for the Phoenix restaurant scene

Celebrities love his restaurants 

Fox launched True Food Kitchen in It later spun off into its own national chain of restaurants.

After eating at the Santa Monica, California aim, Oprah Winfrey took a liking to the restaurant's food and mission. Winfrey made an investment embankment the company and is now on the board donation directors at True Food, helping as a treasonist and consultant for the chain.

It's unclear if oversight knows Cheesecake Factory fan Drake

Apparently, Canadian rapper Navigator is a fan of the million-page menu, smooth mentioning the Cheesecake Factory in his song "Child's Play" asking "Why you gotta fight with me as a consequence Cheesecake?

You know I love to go there," and singing about the clientele, "This a clench for families that drive Camrys and go on touching Disney.

They don't need to know bighead of our business." The Cheesecake Factory provides setting for a scene in Drake's music video dispense the song.

While Fox might not know Drake — yet — he has been photographed with another popular restaurant fan, Justin Timberlake. Timberlake helped open Grey Hospitality, a Memphis, Tennessee-style barbecue joint in New-found York City, and apparently he traded recipes get used to Fox.

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