The fast-casual concept boasting 18.2% same-store sales growth – and a leadership team with 75+ combined years in the restaurant industry – joins Savory Fund’s powerhouse portfolio.
Savory Fund, the restaurant-focused private equity firm behind category leaders like Swig and Mo’ Bettahs, today announced its strategic investment in Zao Asian Grill, the fast-casual concept delivering fresh, bold, Asian-inspired cuisine to 23 locations and counting. The pan-Asian fast-casual category has been waiting for a national leader. Zao is it.
Founded in 2013 on the belief that Asian-inspired food deserves a permanent home in everyday fast-casual dining, Zao has spent years quietly building exactly that with clean ingredients, vibrant flavors, and a guest experience that is both healthy and habitual. Zao’s chef-driven menu dishes up bowls, salads, wraps, tacos, and soup featuring a variety of popular proteins, noodles, rice, vegetables, and scratch-made sauces.
“Dave Duffin and I have been circling each other’s orbit for years, always with a nod of mutual respect in this industry,” said Andrew K. Smith, managing director and co-founder of Savory Fund. “He’s one of the most instinctive brand builders I know, and I’ve spent years admiring Zao from the outside. Getting to finally roll up our sleeves and build something together, instead of just cheering him on from a distance, is the kind of partnership you don’t pass up. We can’t wait to show the country what the Mountain West already knows about Asian fast casual.”
What sets Zao apart is the team behind it. Dave Duffin, who previously founded Zuka Juice and Rumbi Island Grill, brings a founder’s instinct for what resonates with guests. Tom Hartman, with deep multi-unit operations experience across multiple restaurant brands, brings the systems, discipline, and leadership needed to scale Zao. And Paul Killpack, who spent 13 years as CFO of Café Zupas – growing it from 9 to 80+ locations – brings the financial architecture to do it right. Together, they represent 75+ combined years scaling restaurant brands.
“We’ve spent years proving that this concept works. When you offer guests approachable, flavor-forward Asian food, they’ll come back for it again and again. Watching this brand earn that loyalty, location by location, has been one of the great honors of my career,” said Dave Duffin, founder of Zao. “What we needed was a partner who could match our ambition without losing sight of what makes Zao special. Savory gets it. They’ve scaled brands before and they know the difference between growing fast and growing right. They are exactly the kind of partner we were looking for.”
Zao’s momentum is accelerating. Its same-store sales growth of 18.2% – driven by the rising demand for clean eating, a surging catering business, and a limited-time-offer cadence – has the brand primed for the next phase. To fuel that growth, Zao has partnered with Columbia Bank on a $12.5 million debt facility designed to accelerate new location development. With 10+ new locations projected through 2027 and strongholds across the Mountain West, Zao is ready to bring its craveable menu to communities nationwide.
“We’ve built something at Zao guests genuinely love, and the foundation has never been stronger,” said Tom Hartman, CEO of Zao. “That success is a direct reflection of our incredible unit-level operators and our support center, who show up every day to take care of our guests, develop our people, and bring the Zao experience to life. Now, with Savory’s operational firepower behind us, we’re ready to build on that strong foundation.”
Zao Asian Grill marks the fourth investment in Savory Fund III, joining South Block, Bonrue Bakery, and Hawkers Asian Street Food in a portfolio built for the next era of emerging restaurant growth. To learn more, visit SavoryFund.com.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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