The 2018 class of Restaurant Hospitality's annual RH 25 looks at bold moves made by multiconcept operators — the companies that are crossing segments, shifting operations, building big or pivoting in some way. There is no ranking. These are companies to watch. See all concepts >>

HQ: Chicago

Leadership: Founders Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz

Systemwide sales FY2017: $100.4 million

Concepts: Balena, Bellemore, Boka, Cold Storage, Devereaux, Duck Duck Goat, Elaine’s Coffee Call, Girl & The Goat, GT Fish & Oyster, GT Prime, The Izakaya, The J. Parker, Little Goat, Momotaro, Somerset, Swift & Sons

Boka Restaurant Group has never opened a restaurant outside Chicago. And the group has never opened more than one location of any of its 16 restaurants.

Next year, however, the group will do both, opening a second location of its Girl & The Goat to downtown Los Angeles.

It’s a bold move for a company that has long been associated specifically with Chicago. Co-founder Kevin Boehm said the group has been thinking about trying another city for about five years. “It began with the idea that we really loved the challenge of going to another city, but we really wanted to do our due diligence and make sure we understood the city,” he said. “Ultimately, we really loved what’s going on in LA in terms of the culture that’s going on right now.”

Girl & The Goat’s chef Stephanie Izard is one in a stable of chef-partners Boka has collected to build the group, now topping $100 million in sales with 2,200 employees. It remains to be seen whether Boka will bring more existing — or new — concepts to Los Angeles, or try another new city. The group is still growing in Chicago, with a new yet-to-be-revealed concept in the works at a new Hoxton Hotel, said Boehm.

Next: Alta Group

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