Hawkers’ cofounder on averting disaster and scoring a new chance at growth

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Entrepreneurship, Business

4.9 • 17 Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Kaleb Harrell, cofounder and CEO at Hawkers Asian Street Food, a 15-unit casual chain based in Orlando. Hawkers filed for bankruptcy in September 2024, even though it had been enjoying double-digit year-over-year sales growth. The bankruptcy filing was to protect the brand from an overreaching lender, and after settling that dispute earlier this year, Hawkers entered into an equity deal with Utah-based Savory Fund. Harrell joined the podcast to explain the bankruptcy decision and share his tips for selecting the right financial partner.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

You should give your guests credit for the details they notice
There’s no finish line when you’re growing a restaurant brand
Great execution is way more important than fast growth
Your financial partner’s values must align with your own
Tenacity and perseverance breed success
Think through short and long term when choosing a capital partner
In every great story, the protagonist faces challenges

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Takeaway with Sam Okas, a podcast for leaders of growing restaurant companies looking to take their businesses to the next level.
0:16.0	In nearly two decades covering restaurants, I've gained access to some of this industry's most influential decision makers,
0:22.7	and I'm letting you in on the conversations.
0:25.3	In today's episode, you'll learn from one brand founder
0:27.8	how to select the right financial partner
0:29.9	for your business and why drastic situations
0:32.5	sometimes call for drastic measures.
0:35.1	Caleb Harrell is the co-founder and CEO of Hawkers Asian Street Food, an energetic, casual
0:41.2	Asian concept with 15 locations in the Southeast US.
0:45.2	Exactly one year ago to the day that this podcast drops, Hawkers filed for bankruptcy,
0:51.0	a Hail Mary pass in an effort to protect its brand from a former lender.
0:55.7	Hawkers eventually had the filing dismissed, and earlier this year, they reached a deal
1:00.4	with the Private Equity Group Savory Fund, and the team picked up plenty of lessons on growth
1:05.9	capital along the way. In this interview, you will learn more about why great execution is way more important
1:11.8	than fast growth, why your financial partner's values must align with your own, and how tenacity
1:18.2	and perseverance breed success. Jumping now into my interview with Hawkers co-founder Caleb
1:24.2	Harold. Also, don't forget to stick around after the interview, as I will share my
1:27.7	seven takeaways from this discussion, actionable insights that you can take with you on the go.
1:37.0	Caleb Herald, the co-founder and CEO of Hawkers Asian Street Food. Thanks for sitting down me today.
1:43.0	Thanks for having me. This is great. Yeah, and hosting me, by the way, here we are in a hawkers in Orlando, Windermere.
1:50.0	Windermere. That's right. Okay. Great. You guys have this great story. Obviously, this is a great concept.
1:56.0	It's really on brand. You have a lot of news lately recently partnered with Save Refund to accelerate your growth, which we'll get into.
	...

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