JC Clow, founding partner of The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bars in Tustin and Newport Beach, is looking to raise $20 million for his new restaurant called Cedar & Sage.
Last year, he started the Cork & Vines Fund I LP, which describes itself as a “high-end chef-driven wine bar, bistro and lounge concept poised to redefine experiential hospitality.”
As of June, the Newport Beach-based fund said it has raised $14.5 million in investor capital commitments.
A part of that is a $3.5 million “strategic commitment” from Beneficient, a financial services firm that’s run into recent headwinds (Nasdaq: BENF).
“Beneficient’s involvement is more than a financial commitment — it’s a strategic alignment with our vision of bringing elevated culinary and wine experiences to America’s most discerning markets,” Clow said in a statement.
Clow envisions Cedar & Sage as a wine bar and bistro with a scaled down menu, a smaller footprint and a live entertainment element.
“It’s easier to replicate,” he told the Business Journal.
Beneficient marks the fund’s first institutional investor.
“When you have an institutional investor, they have done their homework, they’ve vetted you, they’ve crossed their T’s and they’ve dotted their I’s,” Clow said.
The partnership also “accelerates our path to scaling this concept across the Southwest.”
Beneficient, a Dallas-based alternative asset investment firm, went public via a special purpose acquisition company in 2023. Its shares have since fallen more than 97% to 30 cents each and a $2.6 million market cap due to revenue lower than investors expected and a possible delisting by Nasdaq. Clow said he’s not concerned about the company’s troubles and said the partnership is “solid.”
Topping Off $20M Target
Clow is planning to open eight restaurants in five years, including a Cedar & Sage flagship location slated for a fall opening at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto.
Afterwards, Clow will look to locations such as Arizona and Nevada for the remainder of the pipeline although he hasn’t ruled out East Coast opportunities if they come up. He added that he’s been in conversations with an international partner also.
Prior to opening the first of The Winery restaurants 18 years ago with partners William Lewis and Chef Yvon Goetz, Clow spent over 12 years at Morton’s Restaurant Group.
As one of two corporate wine buyers, Clow at one point oversaw the wine lists at 72 restaurants. He was also part of the opening of Morton’s Costa Mesa location in 1995.
“Over the years, fine dining has evolved,” Clow said of what he’s learned from operating The Winery in Orange County. “It can still be fine dining, but it can be far more approachable. It can still be an elegant, sophisticated, casual experience.”
Clow’s Cedar & Sage business partners, Christian Mack and Steven Williams, were previous investors in The Winery restaurants.
Cork & Vines targets an internal rate of return of 20% or more and offers a 5% preferred return. The fund remains open to investors with a minimum commitment of $250,000.
The total capital has grown since Beneficient’s contribution in early June, according to Clow, and he’s eyeing the $20 million finish line.
Clow said he is already in talks with a second publicly traded company about closing out the fund. If that happens, he said he would consider launching a Cork & Vines Fund II.
“The cool thing about the evergreen fund too is we can raise more than $20 million,” he said. “It could be that simple where we close one fund and things are continuing to grow and build.”