Urban Plates, a California-based, upscale fast casual restaurant brand, announced today that it has closed a $38 million growth and working capital facility with Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group. The company will use the proceeds to expand the brand by building new restaurants in various geographic areas around the country.

Urban Plates combines the freshness, variety and convenience of a modern food marketplace with a fine-dining culinary experience. Founders and industry veterans Saad Nadhir and John Zagara opened the first Urban Plates in San Diego in 2011 with a passion for serving nourishing food that makes you feel good. Urban Plates empowers guests to make equally wholesome and delicious food choices by providing fresh, made-from-scratch meals, entrée salads, hand-carved sandwiches, hot and chilled sides, seasonal soups and braises, as well as natural juice Replenishers and desserts. The company's thoughtful sourcing strategy, which includes grass-fed steak, cage-free chicken and line-caught seafood, is part of the company's fundamental philosophy to invest in food quality across its entire menu. Every menu item is prepared from scratch daily at each of the company's 15 locations, including 13 California restaurants and two East Coast restaurants in the Washington D.C. area.

"Urban Plates is changing the way America eats," said Saad Nadhir, Co-Founder and CEO. "Guests desire affordable high-quality, customizable meals served in a convenient yet inviting atmosphere with fine- dining hospitality. Urban Plates is absolutely dedicated to fulfilling that need for every guest, every time. We are very pleased to work with Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group as we continue our expansion of the brand in existing markets as well as new markets across the U.S."

"We're thrilled to have advised Urban Plates," said John Goldasich, Partner at Arlington Capital Advisors. "Few growth concepts are led by such experienced restaurant operators. Saad Nadhir and his team have developed a category-defining concept that meets the needs of the modern consumer. We look forward to following Urban Plates as the company continues to expand across the U.S."

"The Arlington team did an outstanding job advising us on this transaction," said Saad Nadhir. "Their deep knowledge and experience in both capital raising and the restaurant industry were invaluable throughout the process, and we look forward to working with them again in the future."