Food & Beverage

Savory invests in Austin-based pizza brand

Image: Provided

October 13, 2020

Mercato Partners Fund-owned Savory is investing in Via 313, a Detroit-style pizza concept based in Austin, according to a news release. This is the second such investment in for Savory, which in June announced its first $90 million investment and has now officially closed at $100 million.

Via 313 owners, Brandon and Zane Hunt, grew up in Detroit and were inspired to bring their hometown's signature take on pizza –– with its rectangular shape and crispy, chewy and thick crust –– to their new home in Texas. They opened the restaurant's first location nine years ago as a small trailer in downtown Austin, then added a second trailer before the end of the same year. Since then, the Hunt brothers have expanded into three brick-and-mortar locations.

"I grew up in Chicago and have always had an affinity for pizza," Andrew K. Smith, Savory managing director said in the release. "Despite the crowded fast casual pizza industry, I believe there is a large hole in the market for the nostalgic pizza experience I grew up on.

"When I met Brandon and Zane Hunt, who introduced me to Via 313, my eyes were opened to the amazing and creative Detroit-style pizza heritage. I knew I had to work with the Hunts and expand their dream to more cities across America. By combining all of our collective experience, we have an opportunity to lead out on this segment of Detroit-style pizza."

Via 313 joins Savory's current portfolio of restaurant concepts, including The Crack Shack, Mo' Bettahs, R&R BBQ and Swig, which span more than 45 sites in development moving into 2021.