From the streets of Asia to a thriving multi-unit brand, Hawkers was born from a craving for authenticity and a friendship-fueled leap of faith. In 2011, Kaleb Harrell and his three best friends pooled their savings of about $80,000 to open a restaurant in Orlando inspired by the bold, multi-generational flavors of Asian hawker stalls.
Nearly 15 years later, the brand has scaled to 15 units with $4.6 million AUVs, a 4.8-star guest satisfaction score, and a fiercely loyal fanbase. Along the way, Harrell and his partners have faced everything from backing out of a bankruptcy filing to attracting an investment from Andrew K. Smith’s Savory Fund. Hawkers also recently announced its new board of directors, featuring an all-star lineup of restaurant veterans like First Watch’s Chris Tomasso and Fogo de Chão’s Barry McGowan.
READ MORE: Savory Fund Strikes Investment in Hawkers Asian Street Food
In an exclusive Q&A with FSR, Harrell opens up about what it means to lead with grit, empower culture over bureaucracy, and intentionally scale without losing soul or integrity.
Editor’s Note: This is the third article in our new Q&A web series, NextGen Brand Builders. The collection spotlights restaurant executives who are building today’s most compelling NextGen Casual brands from the inside out. The first, Daniel DeLeon Reveals Grumpy’s Recipe for Retention, is here. The second, Chad Offerdahl Keeps The Big Biscuit Fast, Fresh, and Focused, is here.
FSR: Kaleb, let’s go back to the beginning. What sparked the idea for Hawkers, and how did you and your co-founders bring it to life?
Harrell: The original spark for Hawkers can really be found in the name; We were inspired by the bold flavors, relentless hustle, and dedication to culinary craft that we experienced in hawker stalls and “centres” across Asia. As the four of us traveled together, often to the hometowns of my fellow co-founders, we quickly realized that the best food in Asia is found right on the streets. These street vendors are highly revered and culturally significant; many having perfected their recipes over 3+ generations. We couldn’t understand why we didn’t have access to these flavors in the States. Why wasn’t anyone in Orlando serving Roti Canai or Char Kway Teow? So, we scraped together every penny the four of us had (about $80,000), and we brought it to Orlando ourselves. Beyond that, we were just four best friends who wanted a cool place to eat great food and hang out together. Our first location opened on Mills Avenue in March 2011.
FSR: What does it mean to you to serve authentic Asian street food in an experience-driven environment—and how do you make sure that authenticity shines through at scale?
Harrell: Authentic hawker culture on the streets of Asia has evolved into an immersive world that invigorate all five senses at once, and that’s really the experience we are aiming to curate in our restaurants. When you walk in, it’s going to feel slightly overwhelming at first, but that’s intentional, and I think “intentional” is the key to the second part of this question.
Growing without losing the integrity of your brand is one of the hardest things you’ll go through while scaling. If you’re putting scalability in front of all of your other values, it will dilute the soul of your brand because scale, by nature, begs for simplicity. We constantly have to check-in with ourselves and make sure we are being intentional about every decision we make, even if it makes things more difficult. Nobody gets into the restaurant business because it’s easy. They get into it because it’s worth it.
FSR: You’ve talked before about building Hawkers on “heart, hustle, and hunger.” How does that mindset still show up in the way the brand operates today?
Harrell: Early on, my three partners and I knew we wanted to build the Hawkers culture around three pillars of intent: Be Disruptive, Always Care, Never Compromise. Today, those three pillars make up what we call the Hawkers mantra. Everything we do, every decision we make, every team member we bring on—it’s all through the lens of that mantra. The strongest cultures are forged in the fire of challenging times, and the Hawkers team has certainly endured some challenging times in recent years. We stayed true to our mantra every step of the way, so things like heart, hustle, and hunger aren’t just ingrained in what we do, they’re part of who we are.
FSR: Hawkers filed for Chapter 11 last year and exited in early 2025 with a restructured path forward. What did that period teach you as a founder and CEO?
Harrell: It validated and re-instilled that the number one key to success for any leader or entrepreneur is grit and perseverance. No matter how smart you are, how much money you raise, or how much experience you have, at the end of the day, it’s those who refuse to quit that prevail. We learned a lot about resilience during the pandemic, but that was a collective struggle, and there was a sense of solidarity that the entire industry was navigating the same storm. This time it was our company, alone, facing this challenge.
Even with a record number of restaurant bankruptcies last year, we were still alone because our filing wasn’t typical, and we didn’t go through with the filing before we exited. It was a completely unique case with little to no prior precedent for us to learn from. That kind of isolation requires a new level of grit. It can be lonely and incredibly difficult, but it also sharpens you as a leader. The experience reinforced that perseverance isn’t just a trait; it’s a discipline. And coming out of that journey, I feel more certain than ever that grit is what separates the leaders who bend from the ones who break.
“The strongest cultures are forged in the fire of challenging times.”
FSR: You’ve now got 15 locations and counting. What have been the biggest lessons in scaling while preserving your culture?
Harrell: Culture can never be an afterthought; it must be designed into everything we do. One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is that structure does not have to mean bureaucracy. As you scale, there’s a natural tendency to implement more procedures, more tools, more platforms, and more and more and more. You eventually come back around to realize that all you really need are the right people. When you have the right people in the right seats, you can operate with fewer platforms, systems, and tools than you think you might need. We learned that lesson the hard way, and we’ve gone through the process of constructing and deconstructing and now re-constructing what our infrastructure looks like.
Preserving culture really comes down to trust and—I know I keep saying this—intentionality. When you prioritize having the right people in place over the right procedures, then preservation of the culture will happen naturally.
FSR: Hawkers sees standout guest frequency and loyalty. What do you think drives that kind of fan devotion?
Harrell: I often say that the restaurant industry, and even the economy at large, doesn’t give the consumer enough credit for what they notice. Even if it’s subconscious, guests notice every single detail of our brand throughout their journey—from the tone of voice they see on Instagram to the lighting in the bathroom, our guests are absorbing every detail and every interaction. They don’t come back to our restaurants just for the food, they come back because they feel something when they’re here.
Consumers aren’t loyal to brands; they’re loyal to the way brands make them feel. Our guest feels welcomed, accepted, celebrated, and even loved when they engage with us. I think that sense of belonging is what drives loyalty that transcends anything point-based or gamified. That’s why we see guests visiting 10, 15, even 30 times a year. Free items in exchange for visits does not build real loyalty, but a sense of community does.
FSR: AUVs of $4.6 million and a 4.8-star guest satisfaction rating are impressive metrics. What operational decisions or systems are helping drive that performance?
Harrell: At the heart of those numbers is quality, stable leadership. We’ve learned that no system or process can truly deliver, unless you have the right leaders at every level. Of course, we’ve built smart systems and playbooks, but what really drives results like that is having leaders who model the standard every day. Our teams know that guest satisfaction isn’t a metric we chase, it’s a standard we live by. We empower team members at every level to make decisions that elevate the guest experience, and we celebrate the behaviors that drive real guest loyalty. That top-down stability is what keeps the culture strong, the guest experience consistent, and the performance metrics moving in the right direction.
FSR: In June, you announced a game-changing partnership with Savory Fund. What made them the right growth partner, and what excites you most about this next chapter?
Harrell: When we started looking at potential partners, we weren’t just looking for capital. We were looking for a partner who understood the DNA of Hawkers and shared our vision for what this brand could become. It was clear from the start that the Savory team really gets it. They believe in our story, they respect the culture we’ve built, and they bring a track record of scaling brands without stripping away what makes them special.
I’m excited to have a partner that will challenge us to think bigger while providing resources and expertise to execute at a higher level. This next chapter is about opening new locations, reaching more guests, and continuing to innovate, all while staying true to the friendship, culture, and great food that got us here.
LISTEN TO KALEB HARRELL AND ANDREW SMITH ON THE RESTAURANT INNOVATOR PODCAST
FSR: How are you thinking about where and how to grow next—with Savory in your corner and new board leadership now in place?
Harrell: You’ll sense a theme here, but intentionality is the key once again. It’s not just about planting flags on a map in cities with high density and good demographics. It’s about finding the right markets, the right streets, and even the right place on that street where our brand can really thrive and be part of the community tapestry rather than just placing ourselves on top of it.
We’ve proven the model in 15 locations, and now the focus is scaling in a way that preserves the culture and guest experience that makes Hawkers truly unique. That means being strategic about site selection, making smart investments in infrastructure, and continuing to develop leaders inside the organization who can carry our values forward. Having the resources and guidance we do now gives us the ability to grow faster, but also smarter.
FSR: What’s your personal leadership philosophy—and how do you keep your team aligned, inspired, and growing with the brand?
Harrell: My leadership philosophy is built on empowerment. My role as CEO is to clear the path for my team—remove barriers, provide resources, and make sure they have what they need to be successful in their roles. When you’ve got the right people in the right seats, you don’t need to constantly push them forward; you just need to create space for them to thrive. In fact, I’d much rather have to reign someone in than spend my time trying to light a fire under them.
Alignment, for me, comes through healthy communication—but that doesn’t mean endless meetings. It means being intentional about how we connect, focusing on development, and making sure everyone understands the goals and their growth within the bigger picture. When leaders invest in their people this way, the culture becomes self-sustaining, and the team not only stays aligned, but grows alongside the brand.
FSR: Hawkers is a brand rooted in friendship. How has your co-founder dynamic evolved over the years as you’ve grown the business?
Harrell: Our story really did start with friendship, long before the brand was even a thought in our minds. In the early days, that bond was the glue that got us through the grind of opening restaurants completely inexperienced while creating a brand from scratch. As Hawkers has grown into something larger than any of us imagined, our dynamic has evolved in a very natural way because there was always a strong foundation of mutual respect rooted in that early friendship.
We’ve gone from wearing all the hats together, to learning how to divide and conquer, to now trusting each other’s strengths and giving space for one another to lead where the business needs us most. The friendship is still the heartbeat, but it’s matured into a true partnership.
Our fourth co-founder, Kin Ho, passed away in early 2024, and going through that together really put our friendship at the forefront and reminded us how important it is to be intentional about our relationship. We started this business saying our friendship would always come first, and that is something that will never change.
FSR: What are you most proud of in your leadership journey so far—and what continues to motivate you as you build Hawkers’ future?
Harrell: I’m extremely proud of what we’ve built. With 15 locations in seven states, we are on our way to becoming a household name, and I’m even more proud of the leaders we’ve seen grow along the way. Building a brand is exciting but building leaders is what gives it staying power.
That being said, what I’m most proud of is what’s still ahead of us. We’ve been writing this story for a long time, and I can’t wait for people to see it truly unfold. At the end of the day, I want to win, and I want the people around me to win. Winning isn’t about the money or the number of locations. It’s about delivering an exceptional guest experience, building teams we are proud of, and challenging the status quo on how people experience restaurants. I want to build something lasting—a brand and a legacy that people will look at and know we poured everything we had into it.
