Yellow Rocket Concepts Announces Growth Deal With FoxDen Capital

The exterior of a Big Orange restaurant location in Rogers before it opened in 2017 (Photo provided by Yellow Rocket Concepts)

Yellow Rocket Concepts of Little Rock, the company behind Lost Forty Brewing and restaurant projects including Big Orange, Local Lime and Heights Taco & Tamale, has announced a partnership with FoxDen Capital Group of Little Rock to drive growth and expand beyond Arkansas.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Yellow Rocket told Arkansas Business that its management team will remain in place.

Yellow Rocket began as a single restaurant in Little Rock in 2007 and has grown to six different concepts with 13 locations. The partnership with FoxDen “ensures that these restaurants will continue to provide the flavors and hospitality that have made them Arkansas staples, while introducing them to new communities beyond the state,” the company said in a news release.

Amber Brewer, creative director and chief marketing officer for Yellow Rocket, said the company’s growth will begin with Local Lime, its first concept to expand beyond Arkansas. A Local Lime location opened in Germantown, Tennessee, in 2024.

Over the next five years, Yellow Rocket aims to add eight to 10 Local Lime locations in neighboring areas and across the Southeast.

Brewer said Yellow Rocket is also planning to bring Lost Forty Brewing to the northwest Arkansas corridor and is exploring opportunities to expand Zaza, its pizza and salad concept.

The deal with FoxDen “provides us with the resources and support needed to accelerate our expansion plans,” Brewer said. “By entering new markets and scaling our concepts, we’re creating opportunities to reach more guests and grow the Yellow Rocket brand. This growth-focused approach is at the core of the benefits we expect to see from the partnership.”

The deal will also allow Yellow Rocket to provide enhanced training and new career opportunities to employees.

FoxDen, led by CEO Todd Denton, declined an interview request. The firm invests in lower- to middle-market enterprises spanning various sectors. The company’s portfolio includes The Purple Cow restaurant, Beyond Wellness, Trucklots and Conveyor Technology.

Brewer said FoxDen’s leaders are longtime patrons of Yellow Rocket’s restaurants and brewery and that they’ve become “true fans” of Yellow Rocket’s brands. “Their enthusiasm for what we’ve built, combined with their expertise in helping businesses scale while preserving their core values, made this partnership a natural fit. We’re thrilled to have local partners who share our pride in expanding an Arkansas-owned and operated enterprise.”