Every city has that one figure who feels larger than life. In Phoenix, that person is Sam Fox. For decades he’s been shaping some of the Valley’s most celebrated restaurants, the kind of places that somehow feel both instantly familiar and entirely new. From Flower Child to The Henry, to his newest hotel the Global Ambassador, his concepts seem to slot perfectly into their surroundings, almost as if they’ve always belonged there.
On this episode of Collectors Gene Radio, I sat down with Sam to talk not just about food, but about collecting. At first, he wasn’t sure he belonged on a podcast about collecting. He doesn’t have a safe full of rare chronographs or a garage lined with vintage Ferraris. What he does have is a portfolio of restaurants that, in their own way, form a collection every bit as thoughtful and personal as a library of first-edition books or a wall of mid-century photographs.
As we talked, it became clear that Sam isn’t just a restaurateur, he’s a collector of experiences, of spaces, of memories. Each restaurant is its own artifact, built around inspiration that might come from a trip, a song, or even a single piece of clothing. And when you step back and view them together, the collection tells a story that goes far beyond food.
Growing Up in Restaurants
Sam’s story begins in Chicago, where his parents ran small mom-and-pop spots. Later, they moved to Tucson, where he grew up bussing tables, cooking, and absorbing what it meant to run a business built around food. Like many in his position, his parents discouraged him from following the same path. They wanted him in college, ideally far away from the grind of restaurant life.
He tried. He studied real estate finance at the University of Arizona. But when his parents relocated to Florida, he dropped out, raised money, and opened his first restaurant in 1992, against their wishes. He laughs about it now, but it’s clear he knew from the start that restaurants weren’t just a business for him, they were a calling.
Collecting Inspiration
What struck me most in our conversation was how Sam thinks about ideas. For him, inspiration doesn’t arrive in neat boxes labeled “restaurant concept” or “menu theme.” It comes from everywhere: an architectural detail, the energy of a city street, the way a particular meal made him feel.
He calls it collecting feelings. He keeps them stored away, drawing on them when it’s time to create something new. Flower Child, for example, started with the realization that there was a need for healthy, fast-casual dining at a lower price point than True Food. The menu came first, followed by the vision of how people would interact with the space. Only then did the team go hunting for real estate.
For someone like me, who often frames collecting in terms of objects, watches, cars, furniture, it was refreshing to hear him talk about collecting intangible things. It reminded me of past guests who spoke about ephemera or vintage advertising: the value isn’t always in the object itself, but in the feeling it evokes.
Real Estate as Collecting
Sam is candid about how important real estate is to his success. Some restaurateurs stumble onto a great location and ride it for decades. Sam treats each piece of real estate like a collectible in its own right. Scottsdale, Santa Monica, Nashville, he’s strategically gathered prime locations, often clustering multiple concepts in the same neighborhoods.
What’s fascinating is that he doesn’t just see the four walls. He sees how people will interact with a space, how the energy of a building can set the stage for an entirely new idea. In that way, collecting restaurants isn’t that different from curating furniture or watches. You have to develop a taste for what works, what fits, and what can stand the test of time.
The Cheesecake Factory Chapter
In 2019, Fox Restaurant Concepts was acquired by The Cheesecake Factory. For some, that might sound like selling out. For Sam, it was the opposite. Cheesecake had already been an investor in True Food and Flower Child, and over time, both sides realized how aligned they were. The acquisition provided capital, resources, and a foundation for growth, while leaving Sam and his team free to innovate.
He admits that it was surreal. Not just negotiating the deal, but living through the process of selling something he had built over decades. But like any collector who knows when to trade a piece to strengthen the collection, he saw it as a way to expand his reach, experiment with new concepts, and ensure his brands could thrive on a national stage.
A Collection of Memories
One of the more poignant moments of our conversation came when Sam reflected on what he’s really collecting. Sure, he has restaurants. But those restaurants create memories for people like first dates, birthdays, dinners with family. He talked about it as though he were collecting those moments himself, storing them in the same way he collects inspirations.
I thought about my own life: the brunches at The Henry, the dinners at North, the celebratory meals at his new hotel, The Global Ambassador. Each of those is part of Sam’s collection, but they’ve also become part of mine. That’s the beauty of what he does: his collection is meant to be shared.
The Collectors Gene Rundown
The One That Got Away: Modern Steak at Scottsdale Fashion Square. The timing was wrong, the location was wrong, maybe the entire concept was wrong. It was an expensive mistake, but one Sam says he’d love a do-over on.
The On Deck Circle: Fly By, a take-out chicken and pizza concept born from Doughbird. Expect to see it evolve into stand-alone locations, with expanded menus and a strong to-go component.
The Unobtainable: Opening a restaurant in New York. Sam once signed a lease for True Food, but construction costs doubled and the deal fell apart. He hasn’t written it off completely, but the barriers remain steep.
The Page One Re-Write: If he could claim ownership of any existing restaurant, Sam says he’d love to have Nobu Malibu in his collection. The combination of ambiance, food, and setting is unmatched.
The GOAT: Sam has respect for countless restaurateurs, but what impresses him most is anyone who can create something lasting, whether it’s one restaurant or a hundred. For him, success is about more than money; it’s about staying power.
The Hunt or The Ownership: Negotiating the sale of Fox Restaurant Concepts to Cheesecake Factory was exhilarating, but so was seeing it come to fruition. The chase was fun, but yes, getting the check wasn’t bad either.
Do You Feel That You Were Born With The Collector’s Gene?: At first, Sam wasn’t sure. But after our conversation, he admitted that he collects memories, and that those memories are created every day in his restaurants. By that measure, he absolutely has the collectors gene.
Closing Thoughts
Sam Fox reminded me that collecting doesn’t always mean objects you can tuck away in a safe or hang on a wall. Sometimes the most powerful collections are the ones built out of experiences, the meals, memories, and feelings that stick with you long after the bill is paid.
Sam has built a career out of creating those moments for others, and in doing so, he’s curated a collection unlike any other. Restaurants may close, menus may change, but the memories remain. And in their own way, those memories become artifacts just as significant as any vintage watch or rare photograph.
