TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson native Sam Fox is expanding in the Old Pueblo again. Wednesday he'll open his next restaurant concept—Doughbird.
Even with uncertain economic times ahead, Fox says he wants to continue growing his brand. He spoke to me Tuesday, from his headquarters in Phoenix, about pushing forward with expansion despite the high costs.
"It's expensive to build and develop right now. So we're cautious that way, but our business has stayed pretty steady," says Fox. "We haven't really seen anything go the opposite way just yet. We're thankful for that. We believe in just slow and steady race wins."
Fox is a Tucson restaurateur, now headquartered in Phoenix, who operates 12 different brands in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
His newest restaurant opens this week in Tucson, a sit-down pizza-and-chicken restaurant called Doughbird.
Fox tells me they quickly filled positions for the new restaurant, thanks in part to highly competitive wages.
"Obvioulsy our reputation in the marketplace helps in just having operated a lot of restaurants there," Fox says.
Doughbird is right next door to Flower Child, another of Fox's restaurants, which opened eight weeks ago on Campbell between Glenn Street and Blacklidge Drive.
He points out that Tucson, unlike many other cities, really embraces a new restaurant:
New restaurants are such a big deal right out of the gate.
It's a form of entertainment for people. Man, we came out of the gate really, really hot.
And our job is retention, is to make sure that our guests have great experiences and they keep coming back.
The addition of Flower Child and Doughbird to Tucson brings the total number of Sam Fox restaurants here to seven, and counting.
"We have a pretty big presence there. So being from there obviously I'm very comfortable in the market. You know I always want to do really, really well there."
Fox tells me he's always looking at expanding in Tucson and across the country.
His next major project is in the new Global Ambassador Hotel, set to open in November in Phoenix.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.