Chase Hall
Audio By Carbonatix
Chas Martin is a character. The shades, the cigars, the hot takes–it’s all giving Hunter S. Thompson meets Henry Hill from Goodfellas. But, make no mistake; behind the big personality is a keen restaurateur.
As a founding partner of Duro Hospitality, Martin, along with Benji Homsey, J Chastain, and Ross See, seems to have discovered the secret to enchanting Dallas diners. The company’s portfolio currently includes The Charles, El Carlos Elegante, Mister Charles, Sister, and Norman’s Japanese Grill, to name a few. And, whether or not you’re personally a fan of high design, hamachi crudo, and añejo priced like a full tank of gas, these spots have captivated our very challenging restaurant town (not to mention the Michelin Guide).
Stephen Karlisch
Duro’s new spot is Scilla. Opening near Preston Center this Friday, July 17, the concept wraps coastal Italian cuisine in a “deeply atmospheric” setting. How deep? Well, the name comes from an ancient myth in which a little seaside village is trapped between two massive monsters, Scylla and Charybdis. Closer to home, “Scilla” was also the nickname that Martin’s father bestowed upon his mother, Priscilla. And if you think that’s interesting, read on for more from our chat with Chas Martin.
Dallas Observer: How does it feel to finally go to market with this new concept?
Chas Martin: If you’d asked me a week ago, I’m not sure what my response would have been. It takes me a second to see things in the space and, for example, to try that same dessert six times to really understand what we like about it, and what we don’t like about it. But the theme is in a really great place, and the menu’s in a great place, and the space is spectacular. This week I am more excited.
DO: Speaking of which, how long does your company’s development process take?
CM: At least two years. We signed the lease [on Scilla] over two years ago. The planning process took about 12 months, and then it was a 12-month build.
Like the name of our company, Duro Hospitality (duro means “hard” in Italian), we have gone about everything the hard way. …Nothing translates over. It takes us a lot of work to differentiate each restaurant from another, to come up with something that’s unique and new and has its own DNA. While some DNA is shared between the restaurants, each is still its own.
DO: One thing is different, for sure. Why isn’t this new restaurant named Charles? What else sets it apart?
CM: One of your journalist colleagues likes to think that [all Duro restaurants] are named after me. Of course, some of our restaurants are related to others, but they all have such unique personalities. Scilla is very coastal, seafood-focused. It’s a place you can come for lunch multiple times a week, you can entertain friends from out of town, or you can have a business dinner. I think it casts a wide net.
DO: Wide net? Is that a seafood joke?
CM: Ha! I’m not that clever. I wish I was.
DO: Anyway, seafood. What’s on the menu? How will it stand out among the many eateries around Preston Center?
CM: We’ll have an awesome crudo selection, a big wood-fired grill, and house-made pastas. We also have a menu category called cicchetti. It’s like the Italian word for tapas, things to eat with an aperitivo before dinner. So, I think this place will be utilized differently throughout the day. This neighborhood has a bunch of great restaurants, and I think we fit into the neighborhood. There’s not a lot of super-posh joints in this neighborhood, though.
DO: So, will you have to be famous, or rich, or both, to get a table?
CM: There’s a misconception that some restaurants create a fake sense of demand by being very hard to get into. When we opened Mister Charles, there was a local guy, a big shot. He called me and asked, ‘Hey, can you work in ten of us tonight?’ I was like, ‘Man, we just opened. It’s a Saturday night. I can’t.’ So, he began name-dropping all the people he wanted to bring to dinner, and I said, ‘Brother, I get it. You have big shot friends. I love that. I assure you, I’m not trying to be cool. I just don’t have the room.’
We’re not known for making big restaurants. Scilla will hold 90 people for dinner inside. Dallas is a big city, and in big cities you have to make reservations. We also try to hold room for walk-ins. Feel free to call, but, [if you don’t have a reservation] the best way to do it is show up, try to find two spots at the bar, and have some patience.
