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Event Details
When:
November 12, 2026 8 AM - 10 AM EST
Where:
Location Name
Philadelphia Country Club
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Overview
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Join us for our Fall Fireside Chat, From Family Business to Growth Platform, featuring a fireside chat with Sydney Grims, fourth-generation restaurateur and Partner at Fearless Restaurants, and Patrick Sugrue, General Partner at NewSpring and co-founder of NewSpring Franchise.
Bringing both the family business operator and private equity investor perspectives, Sydney and Pat will explore what it takes to successfully scale a founder- or family-owned business. The conversation will cover growth strategy, real estate and expansion, professionalizing operations, preserving culture, and how owners and investors can navigate the opportunities and challenges that come with building the next generation of a business.
Agenda:
8:00 AM – Registration, Breakfast & Networking
8:30 AM – Program
9:30 AM – Networking Continues
Pricing:
Members: $60.00
Non-Members: $130.00
Late Registration Pricing starts 11/10:
Members: $75.00
Non-Members: $150.00
Payment Information:
A 3% payment processing fee will be added to all credit card transactions. This fee offsets non-refundable costs charged by our payment processor and does not generate revenue for ACG.
Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations received fewer than five (5) business days prior to the event are non-refundable. No exceptions. We do not issue credits toward future events.
Please email all cancellation or attendee replacement requests to ACGPhiladelphia@acg.org
Event Secondary Body
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Sydney Grims, Partner and Director of Business Development at Fearless Restaurants Sydney is a fourth-generation restaurateur and Partner and Director of Business Development at Fearless Restaurants, where she helps lead the growth strategy for the family-owned company and its 1,500 employees. Since joining Fearless in 2017, Sydney has played a key role in expanding the business through new concepts, locations and real estate development, including Louie Louie, Rosalie, White Dog Café, Testa Rossa, Triple Crown Restaurant and Events, and the forthcoming Martin & Roz. Her work focuses on identifying growth opportunities, developing new properties, and building the strategy and infrastructure needed to scale while preserving the culture and identity of a multigenerational family business. Sydney graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration with a minor in Real Estate Finance. Before returning to the family business, she held leadership roles with Hillstone Restaurant Group, managing a $15 million restaurant by age 25, and later served as Hospitality Director for Ronald O. Perelman, overseeing complex hospitality operations, major capital projects and high-profile events. Her experience brings together the perspective of an owner, operator and next-generation leader navigating the opportunities and challenges that come with transforming an established family business into a growing, professionally managed enterprise. |
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Pat Sugrue, General Partner at NewSpring Pat is a General Partner at NewSpring and a General Partner of NewSpring Franchise, the firm’s strategy focused on investing in innovative franchise and multi-unit businesses. He co-founded NewSpring Franchise in 2020, bringing more than 25 years of C-level operating and consulting experience to his work with growing companies. Throughout his career, Patrick has helped businesses scale, reposition brands and business models, improve performance, and navigate the operational complexities that come with growth. Before joining NewSpring, Patrick held senior leadership roles at Saladworks, Sofina Foods, Fearmans Pork, HoneyBaked Ham, and AHL Services. He also served as Managing Partner of H&S Investments, where he advised family-owned lower-middle-market businesses on performance improvement, succession planning, and acquisition opportunities in partnership with private equity firms. Patrick holds a BA in Political Science and English from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. |
Hosted by: ACG
Chapter
Philadelphia