Veteran restaurateur Sam Fox has spent more than two decades in the business, with 100-plus venues under his belt and counting. In 2019, he sold his Fox Restaurant Concepts (though still remains at the helm as CEO) and has since embarked on an entirely new, yet not entirely unrelated, venture with the launch of Author & Edit Hospitality. Under this new umbrella, he serves as developer and operator of two venues to date—the Global Ambassador hotel slated for a 2023 opening in a posh neighborhood that straddles Phoenix and Scottsdale, and Nashville’s recently debuted Twelve Thirty Club, a partnership with Justin Timberlake that’s a take on the classic supper club experience. We caught up with him on the details of these two exciting projects.
How are you parlaying your extensive F&B experience into hotels with the Global Ambassador in Arizona?
My venture into hotels is the culmination of more than 20 years in the restaurant industry, having opened over 100 restaurants, with many more planned for 2021. With the Global Ambassador, we are evolving luxury hospitality at every level. This is a convergence of significance found in hospitality, wellness, and culture.
The hotel will feature five original dining venues, [including] a European Market & Café inspired by streetside Parisian cafés, a signature Parisian steakhouse, a poolside restaurant influenced by Mexican and Peruvian fare, and the Member’s restaurant. The pièce de résistance will be the Mediterranean rooftop restaurant that overlooks the iconic Camelback Mountain.
The mezzanine-level bar at the AvroKO-designed Twelve Thirty Club’s Honorary Member Club, a 50-person private cocktail lounge
Why was this a good time for you to make this move?
The idea of designing, managing, and owning a luxury hotel has been on my radar for a long time. When the opportunity came about to purchase land at one of the most high-profile locations in Arizona, I knew it was time to bring the hotel piece into play. It doesn’t get better than this—the convergence of Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Paradise Valley, plus it’s in my own backyard. There’s an ease to the property and its proximity to everything. I’m developing the Global Ambassador with my trusted collaborator, business partner, and friend Brian Frakes of Common Bond Development Group.
What’s your approach to the design?
I wanted to develop something that hasn’t been done in Arizona before, or on the West Coast for that matter. I’m working with Judith Testani of Testani Design Troupe, who has been a longtime muse and designed a majority of my projects, professionally and personally. She helps facilitate my vision, no matter how crazy it may be. Jeff Berghoff of Berghoff Design Group is also part of the team. He’s not only an amazing landscape architect, but he also has an incredible design vision.
You also recently opened the Twelve Thirty Club in Nashville. How did Justin Timberlake get involved in the project?
The Twelve Thirty Club was an idea that came together among friends. A few years back, I met Justin Timberlake at a friend’s barbecue. We got to talking, and he proposed the idea of becoming business partners in a future restaurant. We didn’t know how or when, but I already had a couple of restaurants in the city, so when the deal came about at Fifth & Broadway in the heart of Nashville, it made a lot of sense. Our vision has been to create a distinctive space that honors Nashville’s music scene in a sophisticated setting.
The garden-style rooftop bar, dining, and lounge area at the Twelve Thirty Club
Why was AvroKO the right designer for this venture?
I’ve wanted to work with AvroKO for a long time. Of the more than 100 restaurants I’ve opened in my career, the Twelve Thirty Club is the most expensive at $25 million and the most design intensive. It was a great experience collaborating with AvroKO and creating a one-of-a-kind restaurant with them.
What else is in the works?
The Global Ambassador and the Twelve Thirty Club are my two main focuses right now, in addition to being the founder and running the day-to-day operations of Fox Restaurant Concepts, which has huge growth plans for the coming years.
Paying homage to the Art Deco era, the zinc-accented bar at the Supper Club at Twelve Thirty sits beneath a striking lighting installation
This article originally appeared in HD’s October 2021 issue.
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