FSR April 2023

NEXTGEN 25

Clark Crew BBQ OKLAHOMA CITY

UNITS: 1

FOUNDED: 2019

While a number of res taurants can trace their origins to a smaller oper ation—pop-up, food truck, carryout-only— few started as a compet itive team. But that was the case for Travis Clark, who after attending a barbecue competition in 2012, decided he could do better. Over the next few years, Clark and his crew swept the scene, racking up victory after victory at various barbe cue championships. Clark Crew BBQ’s journey from team to res taurant began through a partnership with BBQ

“I’VE TRAVELED THE COUNTRY SEARCHING FOR THE BEST BBQ PLACES AND EVEN JUDGED BBQ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND CLARK CREW IS DOING SOMETHING NOBODY ELSE CAN DO AT SCALE.”

cepcion says.

top-10 awards plus world championship titles to its name. After a few years spent transmuting that best-in-class reputation to the restaurant oper ation, the brand was acquired by The Greene Turtle, under the direc tion of CEO Geo Con cepcion, who served as Famous Dave’s COO when Clark first started working with BBQ Hold ings. “I’ve traveled the country searching for the best BBQ places and even judged BBQ World Championships, and Clark Crew is doing something nobody else can do at scale,” Con

Holdings, parent com pany of Famous Dave’s. By the time the brick and-mortar debuted in Oklahoma City in late 2019, the crew had 650

It’s been less than a year since the deal closed, but already Clark Crew BBQ’s future growth has become clearer. Under its new parent company ITA Group Holdings, the plan is to focus on grow ing Clark Crew in Okla homa, Kansas, Maryland, and Virginia markets. After the first four units are opened, ITA will begin looking at west ern markets such as Col orado. Quality will be the primary focus, but ITA expects to open up to 10 units within the next five years, with at least one unit opening up in the

CLARK CREW BBQ (2)

42 APRIL 2023

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