We Sold a Food Festival.

This is how it happened.

In case you missed it, we sold Family Style Food Festival to COMPLEX. People remarked, "This makes perfect sense," but 5 years ago, the answer wasn't so obvious. I remember a streetwear peer sneering, "Who the hell cares about food festivals?"

What he failed to see (but what we understood well) was that streetwear isn't just relegated to limited T-shirts and sneakers anymore. Although the core business remains intact, the attitude and principles (rarity, community, veblen goods) have transferred onto surrounding industries like music (merch), tech/gaming (Discord/Twitch community), and food (drops). You know how in the 2000s, rappers wanted to be basketball players, and basketball players wanted to be rappers? The modern equivalent of that is chefs want to be streetwear designers, and streetwear founders love food.

Like us. For 20+ years, we've brought our following with us to our favorite taco stands (Ben and I recently toured 8 Mexican spots in one day with food writer Bill Esparza) and Michelin star restaurants. Early on, it was odd for a clothing brand like ours to collaborate with a hole-in-the-wall burrito or Katz Deli's 100th Anniversary. We saw similarities amongst our cultures: the passion, the entrepreneurialism and art, the breaking down of barriers. A decade ago, we started hosting "EAT MEETs" for our community at popular cafes and diners, collaborating with the chefs on T-shirts and hoodies. And then in 2019, we launched Family Style with our friend Miles Cañares.

Since the dawn of time, food has brought people together. From first dates to warring nations, business partnerships to holiday reunions, food is the excuse to share stories, open dialogue, and bridge relationships. We figured: If we can curate the world's best food in one place, then that will attract the world's best people. We were right.

But our cynical streetwear friend was also not wrong. To his point, food festivals were stale and boring, and usually targeted an older, stuffier demographic. Plus, esteemed chefs and restaurants have historically refrained from participating because they lose a day of business. Besides top tier eats, how could we incentivize everyone to come? The same way we’ve been inviting people into our home for years: good design and limited-edition drops.

My partner Ben Hundreds says, "restaurant merch is the new band tee." As young people are drinking and going out less, much of their social gatherings have moved to restaurants. Many of these spaces have become cultural hubs. And to say you frequent them signals high status. By partnering world-class restaurants with leading streetwear brands, we were not only scratching both of their itches to aspire to be the other, we’d be cross-pollinating rooms that have existed on two sides of a very thin wall. Food meets fashion. Culinary meets clothing. Again, it wasn’t that clear to those who didn’t have their feet planted firmly in both worlds. For The Hundreds, we were standing in the doorway between.

Over the last five years, Family Style has grown to accommodate over 10,000 attendees with guests like Sydney Sweeney, Jessica Alba, and Brent Faiyaz; and streetwear brands like Nike, Union, Fragment, and Gallery Dept. alongside food favorites like Funke, Paperboy Paris, Yardbird Hong Kong, and Russ & Daughters. Although we shut down during the pandemic, we quickly pivoted to a drive-in concept called Drive-Thru Theater. People isolated in their cars while we set up makeshift movie theaters and played classic favorites or premiered new movies. In fact, Drive-Thru Theater was the very first event at SoFi Stadium. It was also the first public event approved in L.A. County post-COVID lockdown.

After our last Family Style in the Fall, Ben, Miles, and I came to terms with the reality that we’d taken the festival as far as we could go. Although we throw the best parties and events, The Hundreds is set up as a fashion brand. Family Style deserves a dedicated team and a machine behind it to take it to the next level.

Meanwhile, NTWRK was taking a hard look at acquiring Complex from Buzzfeed. Since they weren’t picking up First We Feast (home of the “Hot Ones” show) as part of the package, NTWRK was interested in establishing their own food vertical. We’ve had a longstanding relationship with NTWRK’s founder Aaron Levant. The transition was not only clear, but seamless.

Family Style is in the best hands now with Complex, and the table will extend to feed more mouths. But this was a simple recipe that started with the raw and essential ingredients that everyone has in their home: Creativity, Community, Culture. As long as you can figure out how to bring people together, they will do the rest. That’s the magic of cooking up great art and conversation.

This summer, my partner Ben Hundreds presses on deeper into the culinary world by opening his first restaurant, The Benjamin Hollywood, with partners Jared Meisler (The Roger Room, Bar Lubitsch) and Kate Burr. Follow their Instagram page for updates and be the first to book your table. It all makes sense now…!