LEADING OFF

Among them was Mike Ablon, who had redeveloped much of the Design District. Ablon reached out just to check in, but Martin wanted to talk about the developer’s recent purchase of The Grape in Lower Greenville. Ablon had acquired it after the venue closed in 2019, following nearly 40 years in business. Duro ended up buying the iconic space from Ablon and set about creating a new concept with The Charles’ DNA, but no single item from that restaurant’s menu. “We’ve always taken this approach: We allow the space and the neighborhood to dictate what we put there,” Martin says.

Beef tartare (top left) is a popular dish at The Charles, which also features tomahawk steaks from A Bar N Ranch.

The exquisitely designed but tiny (900 square feet) Bar Charles serves light bites, cocktails, and bubbles (above).

The founders got with Chastain, whom they added as a partner last year, to work on the menu. They describe the approach as “Italian-ish,” with a nod to the Mediterranean, weaving in Homsey’s background. Corbin and Ross got to work on its design. “A lot of why people liked what we did at The Charles is because it didn’t look like what everybody else was doing, and it looked like it obviously came from somebody’s brain and heart, and not a Pinterest board,” Corbin says. “So, we’re still trying to design that way.” The new concept, called Sister, opened last September. Thus far, it’s adding revenue matching that of The Charles to Duro’s bottom line. “It’s far exceeding our expectations,” Homsey says.

Up next is a small coffeeand wine bar, Café Duro, which will open next to Sister this spring. “Picture the little tobacky bar in Rome that you walk past, and in the window, there are pastries and pizza and people standing having an espresso—it’ll be that joint,” Martin says.

Duro has leased the three apartments above Sister, where they plan to soon open a micro-hotel. It will be a matter of dipping their toes into hospitality, as they eventually hope to establish a larger hotel concept, too. The partners also brought property on Cole Street and North Riverfront Boulevard, where they plan to debut an entirely new concept this summer. “It will be somewhat unassuming from the street,” Martin says. “Then, you’ll walk into this 1960s-inspired hacienda.” At the close of 2022, the foursome also plan to open a restaurant in the former Highland Park Soda Fountain and Pharmacy space on Travis and Knox streets, where they will venture into lunch service. Martin believes it will be the group’s biggest chart-topper yet. “It will be our magnum opus, up to this point,” he says

DURO’S GREATEST HITS

Duro Hospitality Group has launched three restaurants in four years and has four more on the lineup for 2022. Here’s a look at their concepts thus far: THE CHARLES.

Launched in 2018, the fine dining Italian restaurant is the group’s founding concept, serving traditional Italian favorites.

BAR CHARLES.

An extension of The Charles opened in May 2019 in the back of a building next door, offering up aperitifs and light bites. SISTER.

Named for its role as The Charles’ sister concept, the venue marked Duro’s entrance into Lower Greenville when it opened last September in what once was The Grape. It serves Italian and Mediterranean food.

CAFÉ DURO.

The group plans to open an Italianstyle café and wine bar next to Sister in the coming weeks.

CASA DURO.

The partners have leased several apartments above Sister from Dallas developer Mike Ablon, gave them a complete renovation. They plan to repurpose the units into a micro hotel, which is scheduled to open this spring. DESIGN DISTRICT CONCEPT.

Sometime this summer, Duro hopes to launch an entirely new, still unnamed, concept at Cole and Riverfront in the Dallas Design District. The look and feel will mirror a 1960s hacienda.

HIGHLAND PARK CONCEPT.

The partners have landed a coveted spot for their latest venture: the historic former Highland Park Soda and Pharmacy building on Knox and Travis streets, which closed in 2018 after 106 years in business. They plan to debut a European concept and break into lunch service with their yetto-be-named eatery, and say it could be their biggest hit yet.