May 21, 2025 • 31 mins
Cabo is Coming to Dallas – and We’re Here for It!
Cabo San Lucas may be just a passport stamp and a quick three-hour flight from DFW, but why hop on a plane when you can get the Cabo experience right here in the heart of Dallas? 🌴
La Lupita, a beloved Cabo staple known for its epic vibes and unforgettable flavors, is about to open its doors in the Design District—and trust us, this isn’t just a restaurant; it’s a vibe. We’re talking 30-foot ceilings that transport you outdoors, music that never stops, mezcal so smooth it might convince you you’re beachside, and food that’ll have you booking your next visit before you’ve even finished dessert.
Tune in to this episode of Let’s Talk Local as we dish on how this iconic Mexican destination is bringing bold, authentic flavor—and serious Cabo energy—to Dallas. ¡Salud! 🌮🍹🎶
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi. I'm Sarah Subiata Bennett. Welcome to Let's Talk
Local. Dallas is having a momentand it's not just about cranes
in the sky or bustlingdistricts, it's about soul.
Today, we're peeling back thelayers with three visionaries of
the heart of the city's mostexciting transformation.
Venezuelan born taste makerCarlos Ramirez of Arce is
bringing an electric newculinary concept to life. Right
(00:22):
here where El Bolero once stood,totally revived, reimagined, and
pulsing with history, flame, andrhythm. Helping him manifest
that vision, the powerhouse teamfrom premier design to
completion. VP of interiordesign, Gael Naul, and VP of
architecture, Chris Kreisler,who understand that to shape the
future of Dallas, he must alsohonor its history. Together,
(00:45):
they're helping turn a raw spaceinto an immersive multi sensory
experience rooted incraftsmanship, storytelling, and
Latin American heat.
Thanks for being here to learnabout it. And as always be sure
to like and subscribe so younever miss a moment of Let's
Talk Local. I am thrilled. I amthrilled to be here today. So
(01:11):
Carlos, you're originally fromVenezuela.
You're an entrepreneur. You wentto Berkeley. All of these
fabulous and sexy things. Gail,you're now VP of interior design
at premier design andcompletion. We're just gonna
call it premier.
Chris Chrysler, you are VP ofarchitecture. Right? So, I am
just so enthusiastic andpassionate about everything it
(01:35):
is that you each are bringing.You're visionaries, you're
helping Dallas become kind of astate of the art Mecca, and of
course it's my home, I love ithere, and I just can't wait to
hear each of your respectivestories so that we can
understand the full some idea ofwhat it is that's being created
(01:55):
with each of your help. So,okay, Carlos, we're gonna start
with you.
What brought you to Dallas? Howin the world did you go from
being this, you know, CPGentrepreneur to now being this
visionary, right? Also inconjunction with your partners,
have places in Cabo, in Miami,which I love the place in Miami.
(02:18):
Talk to us about how you're herein Dallas, why you're here Okay.
Alright.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
So just about to no. Just about to two years. So
yeah. I lived in Miami forfifteen, sixteen years. Sold my
company and then I was talkingto my friend from Berkeley, like
Christian Fuentes.
He's owner of a private equityand a visionary, know, self is a
great entrepreneur. AndChristian, I was like,
Christian, I need to dosomething else right now. You
(03:00):
know, I want to sell my company,what's next for me? So I said,
yeah, want to introduce you to avery great actually private
equities. One of them is here,he's called Kainos.
He's a big one in The USactually. And I talked to
Kainos, talked to him, seeingone night we're having
Venezuelan, you know, we'rescotch, having one scotch. Yes.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I love scotch.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, we're having one scotch, he's like, you know
La Lupita, La Lupita, La Lupita.He's talking talking to me. He's
like, what are you talkingabout? So he started showing me
the menu, showing me the thelogos and the stuff. Was like,
this is great.
Mhmm. But I don't know anythingabout restaurants. So I don't it
doesn't matter. I mean, arereally good at building
companies. We have very solidpartners through hospitality.
(03:39):
We have a very solid team in inMexico. We can do this. I'm
like, let me see. So, know, thedeal was I'll help you out with
the strategy to enter The USmarket. We did that.
I'm gonna go to Cabo. I need tounderstand what the whole deal
is about. Uh-huh. So I went toLa Lupita in Cabo. Actually, the
(03:59):
founder received me there.
We went down there, he took meto the place and then I went
into this cozy
Speaker 1 (04:07):
With this menu?
Speaker 2 (04:08):
With that menu.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
With this menu. Okay.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Cozy, non ambitious place, but it's really cool. You
know, you have live music in aon a stage. You have a guy
playing co play, YouTube covers.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Uh-huh. Oh, this
Speaker 2 (04:21):
is cool. And then you you receive the mezcal and the
mezcal they do it the proper waywith the jicaras and the entire
thing. They explain the time toyou like it's getting cooler.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Mhmm.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
And then it's like you start trying the food.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Mhmm.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Another level. Yeah. So the experience goes to
another level. Like the musicsounds better. Yes.
You can have a lot more fun.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I mean the drinks just like woah. Or is that the
Speaker 4 (04:44):
It's all of it. Is the mezcal hidden? Because
Speaker 1 (04:46):
it's taco and mezcal.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Okay. So the mezcal must be
Speaker 2 (04:52):
A focus on the the founder David David Kami.
Uh-huh. He's a free ego mascot.He knows everything about it.
Yes.
So that's kind of the the storythere. And then came back and
said, Christian, I think we haveto do this. It's interesting
because I raised capital for mypowerful yoga was my company
before. Talked to 50 privateequities, raised $70,000,000 in
(05:15):
in cash Uh-huh. And then I wasready to raise capital for this
one.
And one of the guys, you askactually the celebrity guy that
that goes out to Lolupita. He'sour potential investor and
Christian is like, gotta pitchthis guy. I know the guy is very
tough in business. I waspreparing myself for that pitch,
like crazy, like I was studyingall the numbers, all the stuff.
Send the email and the guyreplied back, I'm in.
(05:36):
I like the team. I'm in withthis amount of money. I'm like,
that was the easiest pitch ever.I'm a Christian. He's like, yeah
man, because they understand.
Yeah. Yeah. They live like theexperience and they understand
how this translate to The US.Yes. So that's the whole point.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I Amazing. Amazing. Okay. So this beautiful
culturally rich story is nowgoing to be opening in the
Design District. And so, beforeI get into the nuts and bolts of
that entire story, which I meanthe area is so sexy, It's right?
I mean it's just burgeoning withso much complex culture, but
(06:11):
like rich layered culture. Butboth of you. So both of you have
been in Dallas for quite sometime and you've helped breathe
breath into so many landmarks.So if you can individually just
talk to me about how you'vehelped shape so many different
stories. Talk to me about someof the iconic properties and
projects that you've worked on,if you can.
(06:32):
Just so that we can have anunderstanding and appreciation
for why it was that Carlos andhis team chose you all to build
and represent what they'redoing.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Well, I've been in the interior design industry for
twenty four years. I was bornand raised here in Fort Worth,
not in Dallas. Yeah. But, youknow, so this is my home. It's,
It has always been somethingthat I really wanted to do, was
to work a lot in Dallas.
I spent the probably close tofifteen years of my career
(07:03):
working and livinginternationally. So I worked and
lived in Asia for six years. Idid all of this, you know, work
in Hong Kong and Macau and allthese different areas and then I
came home when I moved back toThe US and got a job downtown
here in Downtown Dallas withMerriman Architects at the time
(07:25):
and and really Jerry Merrimanwho was the founder had this
just really not his number onepassion was to revitalize
downtown. Yes. And one of Ithink one of the more
interesting stories aboutMerriman is during the downturn
in you know kind of 'seven,'eight and they didn't have a
lot of work, one of the thingsthat they did and they decided
(07:46):
they they decided to to do inlieu of layoffs was they took
the employees and assigned themprojects, landmarks in downtown.
Whether it was the FirstNational or the Statler or
whatever and they created theseprojects out of them even
though, you know, there wasn'tan owner, there wasn't a buyer,
(08:08):
there wasn't a project and didthe design work on them. And so,
in a very full circle moment, weended up getting a lot of those
projects because we had alreadydone the due diligence. We knew
the buildings, we had studiedthem, we had designed them. So
the thing that I worked onreally was the Statler. That
opened in 2017.
(08:29):
That led to what is now the St.Elm renovating and doing
historic work on that and thenthat really turned into the
National. So the National herein Downtown Dallas is, you know,
51 story building. Was so manyyears of my life. Yep.
Yeah. Was For
Speaker 4 (08:49):
four owners, right?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
There are many owners. There are different
Speaker 1 (08:52):
resets. Oh
Speaker 3 (08:53):
yeah. Many different resets. You know, we went from
all apartments to hospitalityto, you know, all this stuff.
When we opened that in 2020,which that was a feat just to
get it open, right? December oftwenty twenty it opened.
It was, you know, kind of what,at the time, sort of a really
big pinnacle in my career simplybecause we had been able to
(09:13):
really, really start to affect achange in Downtown Dallas.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
To tag onto that, so I've been working with Gail and
Amy Sanborn, our senior VP ofarchitecture for about a decade
now. So we've been kind ofaround the bend on a few of
these projects. Mhmm. I and IMary meant it. You know, they
during that time, it was let'sfocus on kind of the adaptive
reuse structure, and then thatpivoted to we're now pulling
those developers in that weremanaging those projects into the
(09:38):
new construction.
Like the East Quarter projectYep. A couple of the Design
District projects with where,with quadrant investments, and
those were I mean, we put, Ithink, 300,000 of office in in
Design District and Yep. Youknow, that idea is to spur that.
That's you can see Virgin Hotel.You can see the multi family
that's going in right on thecorners and all that just
driving the restaurant scene,everybody is, you know, Dallas
(10:01):
specifically for sure.
Really loves that experience of,you know, coming in and they're
willing to to pay a little bitextra for that for that event,
whether that's you're staying ina hotel for the night, you're
going to a nice dinner and andwe're we're doing the whole
thing. Specifically, did theRiver Edge Project thirteen
thirty three right there. Mhmm.And that's hopefully that is
(10:24):
really spurring a lot of therestaurant movement in the area.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Absolutely. Tell us, Carlos, you can, just a little
bit about how you all chose theDesign District as the space and
the place in which you wanted toplant your
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah. Mean, we wanted to plant the seed there. Number
one, I mean, we started likeDallas. I mean, Dallas in on
itself, it's on fire. And youknow better than me, mean it's
on fire.
We think that
Speaker 1 (10:50):
In a good way,
Speaker 4 (10:51):
on fire.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
In a good way, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That's a
little bit Venezuelan comingout, but in a good way. We think
that consumers, the palate isactually getting
Speaker 1 (11:04):
More refined.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Is more refined, it's getting ready, they're ready and
they're actually asking forthese type of things. Then we
started narrowing down,narrowing down. The sand
district, I see a sand districtI've been living in Miami for
seventeen years as a sanddistrict in Miami ten years ago.
Yeah. So the potential is there.
It's like I see how this iscoming is coming together, it's
gonna be there. So it's theplace to be. The other thing is
(11:26):
that we need because of theconcept in and of itself, 30
foot ceilings. Yep. I mean inCabo, it doesn't rain.
Uh-huh. So you go to La Lupita,there's no roof. So you have
open doors all
Speaker 4 (11:37):
the Of course.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
So talk to us about what people are gonna
experience. So it's gonna have30 foot ceilings.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
So initially, we wanted to do it like 30 foot
ceiling control environmentbecause Yep. Here you have
aggressive weather. Yeah. Soinitially, we wanted to have
like a retractable roof.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Uh-huh. Yeah. I remember you
Speaker 2 (11:54):
saying Right. But then we said, you know, the
architects found a great ideaand then you guys actually came
with these skylights. Thatinitially because the retro roof
was like $300,000 investmentplus installation plus so it was
very complicated. And thensomebody remember one conference
call, somebody said, oh, butthere's this prefabricated
skylights you could put overhere and then I was like, that's
(12:16):
genius. It's great.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Amazing. I wanna hear about it. Do you mind? Yeah.
Like, I I wanna hear.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
So it's just aluminum frame structure coming off the
shelf, it's just got aretractable canvas. So it's I
think it's five, six footsections.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
And it cuts the light because if the light goes in and
out in a way that you know we'regonna open at noon and and you
know we need
Speaker 4 (12:33):
So throughout the
Speaker 2 (12:34):
In the morning.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
To make
Speaker 1 (12:35):
those adjustments. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Well you won't have any, you'll have a heating for
it, but then it cuts the Sothat's very well thought out.
It's gonna be a 30 foot ceilinglike I said. Then you have a you
have a mezzanine.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Mhmm.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So you have the band. So you have a stage, then a
place. So you have a forty fortyseats on the mezzanine. It's
gonna be like that. So you'regonna see straight to the band,
but then if you are on the MainFloor, can see the band.
You can again have the good timeof seeing the band playing live
all the time. Mhmm. And it's noton top of you.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
You can see them over there. Sure. You can have a
conversation. I think the designdish is also the place where it
is right now because it's gonnabe that high. Uh-huh.
It's gonna be a billboard forus.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Yeah. That's right.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
That skull head
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Lakalaka Yeah. Would be huge out there. So you will
pass by, you can't miss it. Youwill see it over there. So it's
gonna be, I think it's gonna beiconic.
Uh-huh. Literally iconic overthere. Of course. And then when
people go and have experiencesthat, wow, that's the place I
wanna go back. The wholevaluable position is, I mean, a
great experience in terms offood.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Service. This I was explaining a little bit the
service in on itself becausebehind the scenes, these guys
are the clock. Mean, so you havethe process very well
established. He's always comingand I'm your server, you get the
same experience that if Chris iscoming and then another person
is Of service. So it's the sameexperience.
And then the vibe, the musicalso. So all that compliments a
little bit. But then when I sawthat I was like, guys, I mean
(14:02):
the chef takes three days doingthe mole.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
The tortillas are made two days in a row and then
they handcraft and then theygrind it and it's like and then
the stones, they actually grindthose stones. It's like, you
gotta tell the story. Becausethis food is so good. Yep.
Because all the stuff you do inyour, you know, backstage that
for you guys is, oh yeah, thisis what we do.
Yes. So you know, like, thepastor, this is what we do. You
(14:28):
know, the other thing, this iswhat we do. No. No.
It showed that I would reallylike to have like in the
restaurant some recipes written.Like, so you see three days in a
row doing a mole. So when youhave the mole, it's like, wow,
you appreciate what you'reeating. Part of the research
that we did thinking about howwe customize this to The US was
the and I'm gonna probably messup with the translation, I mean
(14:49):
the pronunciations,instagrammable
Speaker 4 (14:52):
moment.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Oh yeah. No, that's right. Instagrammable moment, of
Okay. Yes.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
So basically we know that La Lupita has tons of
places to do that.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Starting with La Lupita. I mean, the La Lupita
story is because these guys,they signed the location the day
of La Vida de Guadalupe. So thatday they signed the contract. It
was so hard to get that theynamed Hola Lupita because of
that. So they had a virgin ineach and every location.
So we're have the virgin here.So we're gonna have all those
elements and I'm sure there'sgonna be like Instagram moments.
(15:21):
Mhmm. So it's it's all thoselittle elements elements that
you go and you wanna go there.That's your go to place all the
time.
So that's the idea. And again,with thing, hopefully, with your
help, we're be open by October,November. Either
Speaker 1 (15:38):
with bells on.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Right? Right.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
So tell me how you both. So clearly, he's he's been
to all of these places. How areyou all gonna help honor this
history by bringing this storyto life? Talk to me about the
the way that you're gonna infusethat story here in Dallas.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Well, like you said, it's the tactile experience.
Right? Yep. It's it's thematerials, it's the civil war
that you're using. With the 30foot space in there, just that
volume and like you said,creating those moments.
Know, it's a tall wall thatyou're gonna go take a picture
against, you know, using usingthe branding elements here.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
What are the primary colors in the in the space?
Orange and black.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Orange and black. We're rocking it today.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yes. Orange and black. Yeah. Okay. I mean, and
and what we really wanna dohere, at because we are coming
into Texas.
Yes. Right? Is is, you know,it's all about being softly lit
and, you know, you're going tohave so much daylight but then
you're going to transition tothe evening and, you know, so
orange can be pretty harsh sohow do we then, how do we then
(16:40):
light it properly, how do welayer it properly, how do we
bring in some, you know,handcrafted leather and things
like that that can start tospeak back to Texas and Dallas?
And what's so nice about theDesign District is it has its
character established now. Yeah,it does.
And like you said, it is pretty,it's, you know, sexy and it's
(17:02):
all those things but, La Lupitais gonna be on top of Carlos
Alagante and all of that. It isgoing to start to help really
craft the personality and thelayering because it is a really
rich layered neighborhood. Yep.And so that is, that's our goal,
right? It's to honor Lallopita,express it within Dallas and the
(17:26):
area that it's within and thenreally create that spot where
the community wants toconstantly come back to.
We all know Dallas can befickle. Right? Of Dallas can be
quite fickle. So you have tohave every part of it Mhmm. Kind
of figured out, which you do.
It's it's inherently within LaLupita.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
What do you believe is going to really set this
place and space apart? Ofcourse, it's the entire
experience, I get that. It's themusic, it's the ambiance, it's
the incredible food, and thefact that we're gonna have
something kind of solely I mean,I get the whole experience. What
else? What else is going to doyou believe drive home that
(18:09):
originality?
The fact that this is somethingnew and different?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I think that like I mentioned before, all the
consumer touch points Uh-huh.Speak volumes to this. So like
you already mentioned before,like the dishes.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
The the glasses we're gonna use. The ingredients.
We're actually bringingingredient from Mexico, which is
a challenge. Mean, some of thechallenges are
Speaker 1 (18:33):
You are.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We're bringing some stuff that I and again,
Venezuelan, I'm learning with mypartners here. There's one thing
they use the Ricardo, there is asauce I use for trompe al
pastor. The chef is like, Ican't find this stuff in The US.
I'm like, I don't believe it.Uh-huh.
It's like, but then he proved mewrong. It's like, no, I can't
find this the seed that isneeded for this and this sauce
(18:54):
and the lady that does thesauce. So we're actually
building the entire supply chainto have from Eddie, from Yucatan
bringing that sauce for him
Speaker 1 (19:02):
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
To do this type of stuff. So that's what set us
apart. And and and the factthat, you know, the chef and and
and David and Christian and thethe COO is like, we are not
gonna cut corners. Yep. We wantto have the exact same
experience, so we need thatsauce.
By the way, one thing that we'regonna have to fight with is we
are not gonna cream the tacos,no cheese, no chips. So you
(19:23):
know, you go to a restaurant,it's like chips. Yep.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Yeah. We live in by Midwest. Right?
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Yeah. Chips.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
So what's gonna be there in place for all of these
sauces? They
Speaker 2 (19:34):
do what they do is I mean, again, part of the
experience is you come in, theygive you a nice little soup that
is amazing. Uh-huh. But you try,it's accompanied by a chef, then
they bring all these sauceslike, know, the mole and they
explain the entire thing. Andthen, if you order guacamole,
they give you the chips. Yep.
But, you know, they want you tolive the entire experience. So,
the chip is kind of in themiddle. There's a little bit of
(19:57):
noise in such a nice gourmetmenu that they're preparing for
you. So all those little thingsare again, it's part of the
personality. Yeah.
You guys are helping us outright now with, for instance,
the tables. Because if I have tobring the table from there, I'm
like, ah, these are woodentables. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Yeah. Can
Speaker 2 (20:12):
we find them there? So, yeah, we can find them
there. I'm like, wow, we canfind
Speaker 4 (20:14):
them here too. So we're trying to Yes.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You guys are helping us on on sourcing that and the
materials because they reallywanna replicate everything like
the paintings, floors. And youknow, we're trying to see, okay,
what we can do here in The USversus there, but there's
certain things that we can'tcompromise.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Yeah. In going into those the older buildings,
right, it's you've kind of gotthat built in. Right? Yes.
Something that can't bereplicated.
You've got the you've got the,know, masonry on the walls.
You've got the concrete floors.Just all those elements that are
just kinda in place for you.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I mean, as well though, I think one of the
really identifying markers of ofthis is what, our architects and
and your architects specificallyout of Mexico have designed on
the exterior of it. It's notjust another brick building in
the design district, There's,you know, there's color and
there's, like
Speaker 4 (21:01):
you said, it's gonna be
Speaker 3 (21:02):
a billboard in itself because of the, you know, skull
artwork that's gonna go on therebut the between the topography
and the building modificationsthat you're adding to it, it's
like nothing the design districthas seen. Yep. We'll make sure
to share those with you butthey're it's beautiful and it's
(21:23):
beautifully done. We don't seepeople that often willing to
risk putting that kind of colorin whether it's, you know, or
whatever. Right?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
So glad you are.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
I love color. Right. Vibrant. But not those like
primary colors.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
For sure.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
It's these really beautifully sophisticated colors
that again in in that site isreally right there. Mean, on the
corner. Right? It's it's its ownbeacon. So I think the exterior
of it is a really bigdistinguishing mark Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
For La Lupita. So how is it that you all decided to
work with Premier? Because Iknow that you all looked at
several people. Yeah. Why theirexpertise?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
That's the point because you know I didn't want
to on purpose because you know Ihave partners and and investors
and it's like no, no becauseHector is not my friend. No. We
actually put together a thoughtprocess of picking we actually
met with five different firms.We got proposal from all of them
and we sat down with Christianand we analyzed each one of them
(22:21):
and and picked Premier for tworeasons. I mean, there are a lot
of reasons, of course, in termsof capabilities and but you all
can do great stuff.
But, you know, for us, you guysare, number one, willing to go
above and beyond, which is superimportant for us. Number two,
your capabilities, nationwidecapabilities. Yeah. Because we
want to this is for the longrun. Mhmm.
So we're saying it's like wewant to create 20 of this. Yeah.
(22:43):
30 of these. I mean, my partnersaid, go slow. I'm like, I wanna
do 300 of these.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
I think The US has space for this and then it's
it's it's it's that it could bethat successful. So the the fact
that we can go I'm actuallygoing tomorrow to Scottsdale
Mhmm. To see our location there.You can help us right there.
Yep.
And hopefully, we'll get thatlocation at the end of the year.
Yep. So you have to work on it,so it's ready before the work
up.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah. We've gotta get several of these open
Speaker 2 (23:11):
before Right. Yes. But you know that the fact that
that they can they have anationwide scope Mhmm. It needs
to stay in company and theyunderstand already what we're
doing. So that that was one ofthe major factors.
The other thing to be completelytransparent when I saw, oh,
these guys, they do risk cardsand all this stuff. Gonna be so
expensive. Forget it. Forget it.Then we saw the proposal was so
competitive.
(23:31):
Was like, woah.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Okay. Good.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
See, they're good. On top of that, they're we can
afford it, so let's do it. Yeah.Yes.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Also, Keith. Nice. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Looking at what the type of projects they do, I was
expecting a little bit ofcorporate structure. Mhmm. Like
Which
Speaker 1 (23:48):
they have.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Which is great, but but at the same time. But yeah.
But you know, for me as anentrepreneur, was like, I want
them to think as an entrepreneurtoo. And you know, we had one
meeting where I said, guys, no,this is the time like, it can it
can't be that timing. Yep.
You know, I I remember thatmeeting. I was like, I need this
to be ready. This we're notgonna have the money to do this.
Mhmm. And and I I came out ofthat meeting a little bit
(24:10):
concerned, but then that sameday, boom.
I had the plans, I hadeverything in my hands. I was
like, wow. So they are nowthinking as entrepreneurs too.
And you know that is a big plus.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Big plus because then when you're thinking about
growing.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
That turnaround.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Twenty, thirty, 40 restaurants, but you still you
have to have thisentrepreneurial mindset because
resources are limited. Thatmakes
Speaker 4 (24:32):
a difference.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Course. That's a partner.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
And then it's you know growing we're 30 on the
architecture side, 30 on theinterior side, and just having
that capacity in the back endthat.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
30 people?
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Yeah. 30.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Oh,
Speaker 4 (24:42):
wow. So just having that capacity to be able to to
pivot. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
30 on architecture.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Right. But still yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I mean, we're rapidly growing. We are looking to,
right, make sure that we havethe resources to partner with
you all. And one of our, youknow, true pillars within
Premier is, I mean, do, you'reright, we have that corporate
infrastructure. We have, I mean,we have a lot of backing and a
lot of, you know, I mean, ourbackbone is very strong. But
(25:10):
that said, we also, Premierspecifically, have the ability
to be agile and be dynamic andsay, this is what you need.
Okay, let's pivot and let's getthat for him, right? Because we
do see the long term. Right?Yep. We understand how this
Yeah.
Will become a potentialpartnership.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah. That that's super special. And so tell me if
you can, each of you, what it isright now that you so I know
that you're juggling openinghopefully 20 of these. So you're
going to be flying toScottsdale. But then I want to
hear from you all as well otherprojects that you're working on
just so that I can garner thefull I want to have full
(25:50):
appreciation for all it is, allthe different plates that you
all are in the air at the sametime.
So talk to me about your otherfuture locations, where you will
be expanding?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
The expansion plan and it's the easy answer is we
because I have planned city bycity and there's a whole
economic analysis that I didbehind it, but I throw that out
to be honest like, is it path ofleast resistance? Yep. That's
one criteria. The othercriteria, clear criteria is we
don't wanna be in the majorcities like how many rooftops
(26:23):
you have in LA, in Miami Yeah.Yeah.
Yeah. New York. So we thinkthere are secondary cities that
they have enough Mhmm.Affordable disposable income
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
But not enough offering. And you know, I don't
wanna go there now, but you knowMinneapolis.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Yes. Minneapolis
Speaker 2 (26:39):
a place where you have a great I mean there's a
lot of corporation house thereand we could have Alupita Mhmm.
For them. And with this conceptof you know, closed roof, but
you know, having the highceilings. So this this those two
criteria are are right now, Imean, for the long term. In the
short term, have Scottsdale, wehave Austin, we have we're
(26:59):
exploring in the North Of Texas,we have Houston, Denver at some
point.
There's an opportunity that Ican't talk that much yet, but
you know, as an opportunitymaybe in Napa. Yeah. No, can't
talk that. But Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Another time. Another time. Yes.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
There's opportunity there. And then, the idea is to
go to the East Coast. Mhmm. Andthen start developing in the
East Coast. Like I said, I thinkthat, you know, we there's space
for a lot of these.
We think that we have enoughfunding with our investors to
get to, like, $15.20. There's apoint in time where we might be,
you know, partnering with aprivate equity, we can take this
(27:37):
to the next level. Yep. Andthat's kind of the plan.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
We are working on renovation of the Beaman, right,
which is up near SMU. That'svery art centric. I mean, that's
a bold, just fearless projectthat we're working on certainly.
We just opened La Meridian indowntown Fort Yes. Which was, I
mean it's just been so wellreceived.
(27:59):
So
Speaker 4 (28:00):
I've got a, Tribute Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque
that we're in. We're in Didiright now. So hopefully that's
open
Speaker 1 (28:06):
What is Didi?
Speaker 4 (28:06):
'27. Design development. Right. So we're,
yeah, midpoint of this designdrawings.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So I Yeah. Know. That was Amy when I Yeah. We met I
met Amy. She was like, why did
Speaker 4 (28:17):
you do I have my language.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Oh, I know.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
My language. I know. I'm starting
Speaker 1 (28:20):
to learn it. Yes. We're actually about to
Speaker 3 (28:22):
start we're we're we're kinda missing it right
now, but we're about to start,working on a renovation of the
Arlington. Tribute in Arlington.So they're turning a older hotel
into a tribute which is aMarriott brand. It's an upper
upscale kind of a sister to anautograph collection. Mhmm.
A little bit younger, know, morefun cousin of an autograph I
guess you could I just opened anautograph up Frisco in October
(28:44):
2000. Which was a great project.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
For me, I I mean clearly, I have such passion and
enthusiasm and excitement aboutstories like yours and all of
these other stories, right, thatyou're working on telling. What
I guess if you could leavepeople with one last thing with
respect to any concerns that youhave about, like a truthful
(29:08):
honest concerns or challengesthat you have about this
particular project, but alsoways that you believe you're
gonna be able to overcome them.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Dallas is is fickle. Yeah. You know, what I though,
to turn that around, what I dobelieve is exactly what Dallas
needs is that authenticity andthat experience from the time
you pull up through your serviceand the experience and the
(29:38):
memories and all of that. So Idon't believe on any level that
Lollapita will fall into that,you know, kind of fickle Dallas
Speaker 1 (29:46):
It will succeed. Category, right? Will I have
every bit of faith. Totallyagree, Yes. It'll thrive.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
There is a there has always been a part of me that
just worries a little bit aboutthe restaurant scene here in
Dallas.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Of course Yes.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Then when we learned and dug into and really started
to experience
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Mhmm.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Everything that has Lallapita, we're like, no, this
is born for this city.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
I think you're gonna have that experience. Right? You
know? And you're gonna have towin them back on that one and
what's been set up and whatyou've laid out I think is gonna
capture them and
Speaker 2 (30:15):
do that. Well, I think that I think so. You know,
one of the major things as anentrepreneur is that you I mean,
the resiliency that you have tohave to you know, we have a
great concept. We know that wehave a great team. He's super
strong.
Nice about execution. Right? Sothat's the piece that is not
concerning, but we need to befocused on the execution because
if not, you know, you don't getyou don't make it happen. It
(30:38):
doesn't come to fruition andlittle things here and there. So
and then I'm not concerned aboutthat because, you know, I know
the team that we have.
And Christian Young himself is avery silly guy. You know, I in
my company, I started chapterseven twice and then I was
almost bought by hugecorporations and then you you
see all these up and downs. Soyou've been there on that.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
I know.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
And then you have a such a strong team and then you
have such a great valueproposition and then Dallas.
Yeah. That is kind of a liningup for you there. I'm like, it's
just a matter of doing yourwork. Doing your work.
And we're gonna have La Lupitain October.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Well thank you all for being here with us today.
Thank you for listening, tuningin, and that's it. It's a wrap.
Hi. I'm Sarah Subiata Bennett. Welcome to Let's Talk
Local. Dallas is having a momentand it's not just about cranes
in the sky or bustlingdistricts, it's about soul.
Today, we're peeling back thelayers with three visionaries of
the heart of the city's mostexciting transformation.
Venezuelan born taste makerCarlos Ramirez of Arce is
bringing an electric newculinary concept to life. Right
(00:22):
here where El Bolero once stood,totally revived, reimagined, and
pulsing with history, flame, andrhythm. Helping him manifest
that vision, the powerhouse teamfrom premier design to
completion. VP of interiordesign, Gael Naul, and VP of
architecture, Chris Kreisler,who understand that to shape the
future of Dallas, he must alsohonor its history. Together,
(00:45):
they're helping turn a raw spaceinto an immersive multi sensory
experience rooted incraftsmanship, storytelling, and
Latin American heat.
Thanks for being here to learnabout it. And as always be sure
to like and subscribe so younever miss a moment of Let's
Talk Local. I am thrilled. I amthrilled to be here today. So
(01:11):
Carlos, you're originally fromVenezuela.
You're an entrepreneur. You wentto Berkeley. All of these
fabulous and sexy things. Gail,you're now VP of interior design
at premier design andcompletion. We're just gonna
call it premier.
Chris Chrysler, you are VP ofarchitecture. Right? So, I am
just so enthusiastic andpassionate about everything it
(01:35):
is that you each are bringing.You're visionaries, you're
helping Dallas become kind of astate of the art Mecca, and of
course it's my home, I love ithere, and I just can't wait to
hear each of your respectivestories so that we can
understand the full some idea ofwhat it is that's being created
(01:55):
with each of your help. So,okay, Carlos, we're gonna start
with you.
What brought you to Dallas? Howin the world did you go from
being this, you know, CPGentrepreneur to now being this
visionary, right? Also inconjunction with your partners,
have places in Cabo, in Miami,which I love the place in Miami.
(02:18):
Talk to us about how you're herein Dallas, why you're here Okay.
Alright.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
So just about to no. Just about to two years. So
yeah. I lived in Miami forfifteen, sixteen years. Sold my
company and then I was talkingto my friend from Berkeley, like
Christian Fuentes.
He's owner of a private equityand a visionary, know, self is a
great entrepreneur. AndChristian, I was like,
Christian, I need to dosomething else right now. You
(03:00):
know, I want to sell my company,what's next for me? So I said,
yeah, want to introduce you to avery great actually private
equities. One of them is here,he's called Kainos.
He's a big one in The USactually. And I talked to
Kainos, talked to him, seeingone night we're having
Venezuelan, you know, we'rescotch, having one scotch. Yes.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I love scotch.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, we're having one scotch, he's like, you know
La Lupita, La Lupita, La Lupita.He's talking talking to me. He's
like, what are you talkingabout? So he started showing me
the menu, showing me the thelogos and the stuff. Was like,
this is great.
Mhmm. But I don't know anythingabout restaurants. So I don't it
doesn't matter. I mean, arereally good at building
companies. We have very solidpartners through hospitality.
(03:39):
We have a very solid team in inMexico. We can do this. I'm
like, let me see. So, know, thedeal was I'll help you out with
the strategy to enter The USmarket. We did that.
I'm gonna go to Cabo. I need tounderstand what the whole deal
is about. Uh-huh. So I went toLa Lupita in Cabo. Actually, the
(03:59):
founder received me there.
We went down there, he took meto the place and then I went
into this cozy
Speaker 1 (04:07):
With this menu?
Speaker 2 (04:08):
With that menu.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
With this menu. Okay.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Cozy, non ambitious place, but it's really cool. You
know, you have live music in aon a stage. You have a guy
playing co play, YouTube covers.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Uh-huh. Oh, this
Speaker 2 (04:21):
is cool. And then you you receive the mezcal and the
mezcal they do it the proper waywith the jicaras and the entire
thing. They explain the time toyou like it's getting cooler.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Mhmm.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
And then it's like you start trying the food.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Mhmm.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Another level. Yeah. So the experience goes to
another level. Like the musicsounds better. Yes.
You can have a lot more fun.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I mean the drinks just like woah. Or is that the
Speaker 4 (04:44):
It's all of it. Is the mezcal hidden? Because
Speaker 1 (04:46):
it's taco and mezcal.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Okay. So the mezcal must be
Speaker 2 (04:52):
A focus on the the founder David David Kami.
Uh-huh. He's a free ego mascot.He knows everything about it.
Yes.
So that's kind of the the storythere. And then came back and
said, Christian, I think we haveto do this. It's interesting
because I raised capital for mypowerful yoga was my company
before. Talked to 50 privateequities, raised $70,000,000 in
(05:15):
in cash Uh-huh. And then I wasready to raise capital for this
one.
And one of the guys, you askactually the celebrity guy that
that goes out to Lolupita. He'sour potential investor and
Christian is like, gotta pitchthis guy. I know the guy is very
tough in business. I waspreparing myself for that pitch,
like crazy, like I was studyingall the numbers, all the stuff.
Send the email and the guyreplied back, I'm in.
(05:36):
I like the team. I'm in withthis amount of money. I'm like,
that was the easiest pitch ever.I'm a Christian. He's like, yeah
man, because they understand.
Yeah. Yeah. They live like theexperience and they understand
how this translate to The US.Yes. So that's the whole point.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I Amazing. Amazing. Okay. So this beautiful
culturally rich story is nowgoing to be opening in the
Design District. And so, beforeI get into the nuts and bolts of
that entire story, which I meanthe area is so sexy, It's right?
I mean it's just burgeoning withso much complex culture, but
(06:11):
like rich layered culture. Butboth of you. So both of you have
been in Dallas for quite sometime and you've helped breathe
breath into so many landmarks.So if you can individually just
talk to me about how you'vehelped shape so many different
stories. Talk to me about someof the iconic properties and
projects that you've worked on,if you can.
(06:32):
Just so that we can have anunderstanding and appreciation
for why it was that Carlos andhis team chose you all to build
and represent what they'redoing.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Well, I've been in the interior design industry for
twenty four years. I was bornand raised here in Fort Worth,
not in Dallas. Yeah. But, youknow, so this is my home. It's,
It has always been somethingthat I really wanted to do, was
to work a lot in Dallas.
I spent the probably close tofifteen years of my career
(07:03):
working and livinginternationally. So I worked and
lived in Asia for six years. Idid all of this, you know, work
in Hong Kong and Macau and allthese different areas and then I
came home when I moved back toThe US and got a job downtown
here in Downtown Dallas withMerriman Architects at the time
(07:25):
and and really Jerry Merrimanwho was the founder had this
just really not his number onepassion was to revitalize
downtown. Yes. And one of Ithink one of the more
interesting stories aboutMerriman is during the downturn
in you know kind of 'seven,'eight and they didn't have a
lot of work, one of the thingsthat they did and they decided
(07:46):
they they decided to to do inlieu of layoffs was they took
the employees and assigned themprojects, landmarks in downtown.
Whether it was the FirstNational or the Statler or
whatever and they created theseprojects out of them even
though, you know, there wasn'tan owner, there wasn't a buyer,
(08:08):
there wasn't a project and didthe design work on them. And so,
in a very full circle moment, weended up getting a lot of those
projects because we had alreadydone the due diligence. We knew
the buildings, we had studiedthem, we had designed them. So
the thing that I worked onreally was the Statler. That
opened in 2017.
(08:29):
That led to what is now the St.Elm renovating and doing
historic work on that and thenthat really turned into the
National. So the National herein Downtown Dallas is, you know,
51 story building. Was so manyyears of my life. Yep.
Yeah. Was For
Speaker 4 (08:49):
four owners, right?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
There are many owners. There are different
Speaker 1 (08:52):
resets. Oh
Speaker 3 (08:53):
yeah. Many different resets. You know, we went from
all apartments to hospitalityto, you know, all this stuff.
When we opened that in 2020,which that was a feat just to
get it open, right? December oftwenty twenty it opened.
It was, you know, kind of what,at the time, sort of a really
big pinnacle in my career simplybecause we had been able to
(09:13):
really, really start to affect achange in Downtown Dallas.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
To tag onto that, so I've been working with Gail and
Amy Sanborn, our senior VP ofarchitecture for about a decade
now. So we've been kind ofaround the bend on a few of
these projects. Mhmm. I and IMary meant it. You know, they
during that time, it was let'sfocus on kind of the adaptive
reuse structure, and then thatpivoted to we're now pulling
those developers in that weremanaging those projects into the
(09:38):
new construction.
Like the East Quarter projectYep. A couple of the Design
District projects with where,with quadrant investments, and
those were I mean, we put, Ithink, 300,000 of office in in
Design District and Yep. Youknow, that idea is to spur that.
That's you can see Virgin Hotel.You can see the multi family
that's going in right on thecorners and all that just
driving the restaurant scene,everybody is, you know, Dallas
(10:01):
specifically for sure.
Really loves that experience of,you know, coming in and they're
willing to to pay a little bitextra for that for that event,
whether that's you're staying ina hotel for the night, you're
going to a nice dinner and andwe're we're doing the whole
thing. Specifically, did theRiver Edge Project thirteen
thirty three right there. Mhmm.And that's hopefully that is
(10:24):
really spurring a lot of therestaurant movement in the area.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Absolutely. Tell us, Carlos, you can, just a little
bit about how you all chose theDesign District as the space and
the place in which you wanted toplant your
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah. Mean, we wanted to plant the seed there. Number
one, I mean, we started likeDallas. I mean, Dallas in on
itself, it's on fire. And youknow better than me, mean it's
on fire.
We think that
Speaker 1 (10:50):
In a good way,
Speaker 4 (10:51):
on fire.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
In a good way, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That's a
little bit Venezuelan comingout, but in a good way. We think
that consumers, the palate isactually getting
Speaker 1 (11:04):
More refined.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Is more refined, it's getting ready, they're ready and
they're actually asking forthese type of things. Then we
started narrowing down,narrowing down. The sand
district, I see a sand districtI've been living in Miami for
seventeen years as a sanddistrict in Miami ten years ago.
Yeah. So the potential is there.
It's like I see how this iscoming is coming together, it's
gonna be there. So it's theplace to be. The other thing is
(11:26):
that we need because of theconcept in and of itself, 30
foot ceilings. Yep. I mean inCabo, it doesn't rain.
Uh-huh. So you go to La Lupita,there's no roof. So you have
open doors all
Speaker 4 (11:37):
the Of course.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
So talk to us about what people are gonna
experience. So it's gonna have30 foot ceilings.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
So initially, we wanted to do it like 30 foot
ceiling control environmentbecause Yep. Here you have
aggressive weather. Yeah. Soinitially, we wanted to have
like a retractable roof.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Uh-huh. Yeah. I remember you
Speaker 2 (11:54):
saying Right. But then we said, you know, the
architects found a great ideaand then you guys actually came
with these skylights. Thatinitially because the retro roof
was like $300,000 investmentplus installation plus so it was
very complicated. And thensomebody remember one conference
call, somebody said, oh, butthere's this prefabricated
skylights you could put overhere and then I was like, that's
(12:16):
genius. It's great.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Amazing. I wanna hear about it. Do you mind? Yeah.
Like, I I wanna hear.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
So it's just aluminum frame structure coming off the
shelf, it's just got aretractable canvas. So it's I
think it's five, six footsections.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
And it cuts the light because if the light goes in and
out in a way that you know we'regonna open at noon and and you
know we need
Speaker 4 (12:33):
So throughout the
Speaker 2 (12:34):
In the morning.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
To make
Speaker 1 (12:35):
those adjustments. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Well you won't have any, you'll have a heating for
it, but then it cuts the Sothat's very well thought out.
It's gonna be a 30 foot ceilinglike I said. Then you have a you
have a mezzanine.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Mhmm.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So you have the band. So you have a stage, then a
place. So you have a forty fortyseats on the mezzanine. It's
gonna be like that. So you'regonna see straight to the band,
but then if you are on the MainFloor, can see the band.
You can again have the good timeof seeing the band playing live
all the time. Mhmm. And it's noton top of you.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
You can see them over there. Sure. You can have a
conversation. I think the designdish is also the place where it
is right now because it's gonnabe that high. Uh-huh.
It's gonna be a billboard forus.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Yeah. That's right.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
That skull head
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Lakalaka Yeah. Would be huge out there. So you will
pass by, you can't miss it. Youwill see it over there. So it's
gonna be, I think it's gonna beiconic.
Uh-huh. Literally iconic overthere. Of course. And then when
people go and have experiencesthat, wow, that's the place I
wanna go back. The wholevaluable position is, I mean, a
great experience in terms offood.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Service. This I was explaining a little bit the
service in on itself becausebehind the scenes, these guys
are the clock. Mean, so you havethe process very well
established. He's always comingand I'm your server, you get the
same experience that if Chris iscoming and then another person
is Of service. So it's the sameexperience.
And then the vibe, the musicalso. So all that compliments a
little bit. But then when I sawthat I was like, guys, I mean
(14:02):
the chef takes three days doingthe mole.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
The tortillas are made two days in a row and then
they handcraft and then theygrind it and it's like and then
the stones, they actually grindthose stones. It's like, you
gotta tell the story. Becausethis food is so good. Yep.
Because all the stuff you do inyour, you know, backstage that
for you guys is, oh yeah, thisis what we do.
Yes. So you know, like, thepastor, this is what we do. You
(14:28):
know, the other thing, this iswhat we do. No. No.
It showed that I would reallylike to have like in the
restaurant some recipes written.Like, so you see three days in a
row doing a mole. So when youhave the mole, it's like, wow,
you appreciate what you'reeating. Part of the research
that we did thinking about howwe customize this to The US was
the and I'm gonna probably messup with the translation, I mean
(14:49):
the pronunciations,instagrammable
Speaker 4 (14:52):
moment.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Oh yeah. No, that's right. Instagrammable moment, of
Okay. Yes.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
So basically we know that La Lupita has tons of
places to do that.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Starting with La Lupita. I mean, the La Lupita
story is because these guys,they signed the location the day
of La Vida de Guadalupe. So thatday they signed the contract. It
was so hard to get that theynamed Hola Lupita because of
that. So they had a virgin ineach and every location.
So we're have the virgin here.So we're gonna have all those
elements and I'm sure there'sgonna be like Instagram moments.
(15:21):
Mhmm. So it's it's all thoselittle elements elements that
you go and you wanna go there.That's your go to place all the
time.
So that's the idea. And again,with thing, hopefully, with your
help, we're be open by October,November. Either
Speaker 1 (15:38):
with bells on.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Right? Right.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
So tell me how you both. So clearly, he's he's been
to all of these places. How areyou all gonna help honor this
history by bringing this storyto life? Talk to me about the
the way that you're gonna infusethat story here in Dallas.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Well, like you said, it's the tactile experience.
Right? Yep. It's it's thematerials, it's the civil war
that you're using. With the 30foot space in there, just that
volume and like you said,creating those moments.
Know, it's a tall wall thatyou're gonna go take a picture
against, you know, using usingthe branding elements here.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
What are the primary colors in the in the space?
Orange and black.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Orange and black. We're rocking it today.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yes. Orange and black. Yeah. Okay. I mean, and
and what we really wanna dohere, at because we are coming
into Texas.
Yes. Right? Is is, you know,it's all about being softly lit
and, you know, you're going tohave so much daylight but then
you're going to transition tothe evening and, you know, so
orange can be pretty harsh sohow do we then, how do we then
(16:40):
light it properly, how do welayer it properly, how do we
bring in some, you know,handcrafted leather and things
like that that can start tospeak back to Texas and Dallas?
And what's so nice about theDesign District is it has its
character established now. Yeah,it does.
And like you said, it is pretty,it's, you know, sexy and it's
(17:02):
all those things but, La Lupitais gonna be on top of Carlos
Alagante and all of that. It isgoing to start to help really
craft the personality and thelayering because it is a really
rich layered neighborhood. Yep.And so that is, that's our goal,
right? It's to honor Lallopita,express it within Dallas and the
(17:26):
area that it's within and thenreally create that spot where
the community wants toconstantly come back to.
We all know Dallas can befickle. Right? Of Dallas can be
quite fickle. So you have tohave every part of it Mhmm. Kind
of figured out, which you do.
It's it's inherently within LaLupita.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
What do you believe is going to really set this
place and space apart? Ofcourse, it's the entire
experience, I get that. It's themusic, it's the ambiance, it's
the incredible food, and thefact that we're gonna have
something kind of solely I mean,I get the whole experience. What
else? What else is going to doyou believe drive home that
(18:09):
originality?
The fact that this is somethingnew and different?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I think that like I mentioned before, all the
consumer touch points Uh-huh.Speak volumes to this. So like
you already mentioned before,like the dishes.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
The the glasses we're gonna use. The ingredients.
We're actually bringingingredient from Mexico, which is
a challenge. Mean, some of thechallenges are
Speaker 1 (18:33):
You are.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We're bringing some stuff that I and again,
Venezuelan, I'm learning with mypartners here. There's one thing
they use the Ricardo, there is asauce I use for trompe al
pastor. The chef is like, Ican't find this stuff in The US.
I'm like, I don't believe it.Uh-huh.
It's like, but then he proved mewrong. It's like, no, I can't
find this the seed that isneeded for this and this sauce
(18:54):
and the lady that does thesauce. So we're actually
building the entire supply chainto have from Eddie, from Yucatan
bringing that sauce for him
Speaker 1 (19:02):
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
To do this type of stuff. So that's what set us
apart. And and and the factthat, you know, the chef and and
and David and Christian and thethe COO is like, we are not
gonna cut corners. Yep. We wantto have the exact same
experience, so we need thatsauce.
By the way, one thing that we'regonna have to fight with is we
are not gonna cream the tacos,no cheese, no chips. So you
(19:23):
know, you go to a restaurant,it's like chips. Yep.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Yeah. We live in by Midwest. Right?
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Yeah. Chips.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
So what's gonna be there in place for all of these
sauces? They
Speaker 2 (19:34):
do what they do is I mean, again, part of the
experience is you come in, theygive you a nice little soup that
is amazing. Uh-huh. But you try,it's accompanied by a chef, then
they bring all these sauceslike, know, the mole and they
explain the entire thing. Andthen, if you order guacamole,
they give you the chips. Yep.
But, you know, they want you tolive the entire experience. So,
the chip is kind of in themiddle. There's a little bit of
(19:57):
noise in such a nice gourmetmenu that they're preparing for
you. So all those little thingsare again, it's part of the
personality. Yeah.
You guys are helping us outright now with, for instance,
the tables. Because if I have tobring the table from there, I'm
like, ah, these are woodentables. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Yeah. Can
Speaker 2 (20:12):
we find them there? So, yeah, we can find them
there. I'm like, wow, we canfind
Speaker 4 (20:14):
them here too. So we're trying to Yes.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You guys are helping us on on sourcing that and the
materials because they reallywanna replicate everything like
the paintings, floors. And youknow, we're trying to see, okay,
what we can do here in The USversus there, but there's
certain things that we can'tcompromise.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Yeah. In going into those the older buildings,
right, it's you've kind of gotthat built in. Right? Yes.
Something that can't bereplicated.
You've got the you've got the,know, masonry on the walls.
You've got the concrete floors.Just all those elements that are
just kinda in place for you.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I mean, as well though, I think one of the
really identifying markers of ofthis is what, our architects and
and your architects specificallyout of Mexico have designed on
the exterior of it. It's notjust another brick building in
the design district, There's,you know, there's color and
there's, like
Speaker 4 (21:01):
you said, it's gonna be
Speaker 3 (21:02):
a billboard in itself because of the, you know, skull
artwork that's gonna go on therebut the between the topography
and the building modificationsthat you're adding to it, it's
like nothing the design districthas seen. Yep. We'll make sure
to share those with you butthey're it's beautiful and it's
(21:23):
beautifully done. We don't seepeople that often willing to
risk putting that kind of colorin whether it's, you know, or
whatever. Right?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
So glad you are.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
I love color. Right. Vibrant. But not those like
primary colors.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
For sure.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
It's these really beautifully sophisticated colors
that again in in that site isreally right there. Mean, on the
corner. Right? It's it's its ownbeacon. So I think the exterior
of it is a really bigdistinguishing mark Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
For La Lupita. So how is it that you all decided to
work with Premier? Because Iknow that you all looked at
several people. Yeah. Why theirexpertise?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
That's the point because you know I didn't want
to on purpose because you know Ihave partners and and investors
and it's like no, no becauseHector is not my friend. No. We
actually put together a thoughtprocess of picking we actually
met with five different firms.We got proposal from all of them
and we sat down with Christianand we analyzed each one of them
(22:21):
and and picked Premier for tworeasons. I mean, there are a lot
of reasons, of course, in termsof capabilities and but you all
can do great stuff.
But, you know, for us, you guysare, number one, willing to go
above and beyond, which is superimportant for us. Number two,
your capabilities, nationwidecapabilities. Yeah. Because we
want to this is for the longrun. Mhmm.
So we're saying it's like wewant to create 20 of this. Yeah.
(22:43):
30 of these. I mean, my partnersaid, go slow. I'm like, I wanna
do 300 of these.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
I think The US has space for this and then it's
it's it's it's that it could bethat successful. So the the fact
that we can go I'm actuallygoing tomorrow to Scottsdale
Mhmm. To see our location there.You can help us right there.
Yep.
And hopefully, we'll get thatlocation at the end of the year.
Yep. So you have to work on it,so it's ready before the work
up.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah. We've gotta get several of these open
Speaker 2 (23:11):
before Right. Yes. But you know that the fact that
that they can they have anationwide scope Mhmm. It needs
to stay in company and theyunderstand already what we're
doing. So that that was one ofthe major factors.
The other thing to be completelytransparent when I saw, oh,
these guys, they do risk cardsand all this stuff. Gonna be so
expensive. Forget it. Forget it.Then we saw the proposal was so
competitive.
(23:31):
Was like, woah.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Okay. Good.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
See, they're good. On top of that, they're we can
afford it, so let's do it. Yeah.Yes.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Also, Keith. Nice. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Looking at what the type of projects they do, I was
expecting a little bit ofcorporate structure. Mhmm. Like
Which
Speaker 1 (23:48):
they have.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Which is great, but but at the same time. But yeah.
But you know, for me as anentrepreneur, was like, I want
them to think as an entrepreneurtoo. And you know, we had one
meeting where I said, guys, no,this is the time like, it can it
can't be that timing. Yep.
You know, I I remember thatmeeting. I was like, I need this
to be ready. This we're notgonna have the money to do this.
Mhmm. And and I I came out ofthat meeting a little bit
(24:10):
concerned, but then that sameday, boom.
I had the plans, I hadeverything in my hands. I was
like, wow. So they are nowthinking as entrepreneurs too.
And you know that is a big plus.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Big plus because then when you're thinking about
growing.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
That turnaround.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Twenty, thirty, 40 restaurants, but you still you
have to have thisentrepreneurial mindset because
resources are limited. Thatmakes
Speaker 4 (24:32):
a difference.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Course. That's a partner.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
And then it's you know growing we're 30 on the
architecture side, 30 on theinterior side, and just having
that capacity in the back endthat.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
30 people?
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Yeah. 30.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Oh,
Speaker 4 (24:42):
wow. So just having that capacity to be able to to
pivot. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
30 on architecture.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Right. But still yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I mean, we're rapidly growing. We are looking to,
right, make sure that we havethe resources to partner with
you all. And one of our, youknow, true pillars within
Premier is, I mean, do, you'reright, we have that corporate
infrastructure. We have, I mean,we have a lot of backing and a
lot of, you know, I mean, ourbackbone is very strong. But
(25:10):
that said, we also, Premierspecifically, have the ability
to be agile and be dynamic andsay, this is what you need.
Okay, let's pivot and let's getthat for him, right? Because we
do see the long term. Right?Yep. We understand how this
Yeah.
Will become a potentialpartnership.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah. That that's super special. And so tell me if
you can, each of you, what it isright now that you so I know
that you're juggling openinghopefully 20 of these. So you're
going to be flying toScottsdale. But then I want to
hear from you all as well otherprojects that you're working on
just so that I can garner thefull I want to have full
(25:50):
appreciation for all it is, allthe different plates that you
all are in the air at the sametime.
So talk to me about your otherfuture locations, where you will
be expanding?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
The expansion plan and it's the easy answer is we
because I have planned city bycity and there's a whole
economic analysis that I didbehind it, but I throw that out
to be honest like, is it path ofleast resistance? Yep. That's
one criteria. The othercriteria, clear criteria is we
don't wanna be in the majorcities like how many rooftops
(26:23):
you have in LA, in Miami Yeah.Yeah.
Yeah. New York. So we thinkthere are secondary cities that
they have enough Mhmm.Affordable disposable income
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
But not enough offering. And you know, I don't
wanna go there now, but you knowMinneapolis.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Yes. Minneapolis
Speaker 2 (26:39):
a place where you have a great I mean there's a
lot of corporation house thereand we could have Alupita Mhmm.
For them. And with this conceptof you know, closed roof, but
you know, having the highceilings. So this this those two
criteria are are right now, Imean, for the long term. In the
short term, have Scottsdale, wehave Austin, we have we're
(26:59):
exploring in the North Of Texas,we have Houston, Denver at some
point.
There's an opportunity that Ican't talk that much yet, but
you know, as an opportunitymaybe in Napa. Yeah. No, can't
talk that. But Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Another time. Another time. Yes.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
There's opportunity there. And then, the idea is to
go to the East Coast. Mhmm. Andthen start developing in the
East Coast. Like I said, I thinkthat, you know, we there's space
for a lot of these.
We think that we have enoughfunding with our investors to
get to, like, $15.20. There's apoint in time where we might be,
you know, partnering with aprivate equity, we can take this
(27:37):
to the next level. Yep. Andthat's kind of the plan.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
We are working on renovation of the Beaman, right,
which is up near SMU. That'svery art centric. I mean, that's
a bold, just fearless projectthat we're working on certainly.
We just opened La Meridian indowntown Fort Yes. Which was, I
mean it's just been so wellreceived.
(27:59):
So
Speaker 4 (28:00):
I've got a, Tribute Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque
that we're in. We're in Didiright now. So hopefully that's
open
Speaker 1 (28:06):
What is Didi?
Speaker 4 (28:06):
'27. Design development. Right. So we're,
yeah, midpoint of this designdrawings.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So I Yeah. Know. That was Amy when I Yeah. We met I
met Amy. She was like, why did
Speaker 4 (28:17):
you do I have my language.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Oh, I know.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
My language. I know. I'm starting
Speaker 1 (28:20):
to learn it. Yes. We're actually about to
Speaker 3 (28:22):
start we're we're we're kinda missing it right
now, but we're about to start,working on a renovation of the
Arlington. Tribute in Arlington.So they're turning a older hotel
into a tribute which is aMarriott brand. It's an upper
upscale kind of a sister to anautograph collection. Mhmm.
A little bit younger, know, morefun cousin of an autograph I
guess you could I just opened anautograph up Frisco in October
(28:44):
2000. Which was a great project.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
For me, I I mean clearly, I have such passion and
enthusiasm and excitement aboutstories like yours and all of
these other stories, right, thatyou're working on telling. What
I guess if you could leavepeople with one last thing with
respect to any concerns that youhave about, like a truthful
(29:08):
honest concerns or challengesthat you have about this
particular project, but alsoways that you believe you're
gonna be able to overcome them.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Dallas is is fickle. Yeah. You know, what I though,
to turn that around, what I dobelieve is exactly what Dallas
needs is that authenticity andthat experience from the time
you pull up through your serviceand the experience and the
(29:38):
memories and all of that. So Idon't believe on any level that
Lollapita will fall into that,you know, kind of fickle Dallas
Speaker 1 (29:46):
It will succeed. Category, right? Will I have
every bit of faith. Totallyagree, Yes. It'll thrive.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
There is a there has always been a part of me that
just worries a little bit aboutthe restaurant scene here in
Dallas.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Of course Yes.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Then when we learned and dug into and really started
to experience
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Mhmm.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Everything that has Lallapita, we're like, no, this
is born for this city.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
I think you're gonna have that experience. Right? You
know? And you're gonna have towin them back on that one and
what's been set up and whatyou've laid out I think is gonna
capture them and
Speaker 2 (30:15):
do that. Well, I think that I think so. You know,
one of the major things as anentrepreneur is that you I mean,
the resiliency that you have tohave to you know, we have a
great concept. We know that wehave a great team. He's super
strong.
Nice about execution. Right? Sothat's the piece that is not
concerning, but we need to befocused on the execution because
if not, you know, you don't getyou don't make it happen. It
(30:38):
doesn't come to fruition andlittle things here and there. So
and then I'm not concerned aboutthat because, you know, I know
the team that we have.
And Christian Young himself is avery silly guy. You know, I in
my company, I started chapterseven twice and then I was
almost bought by hugecorporations and then you you
see all these up and downs. Soyou've been there on that.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
I know.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
And then you have a such a strong team and then you
have such a great valueproposition and then Dallas.
Yeah. That is kind of a liningup for you there. I'm like, it's
just a matter of doing yourwork. Doing your work.
And we're gonna have La Lupitain October.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Well thank you all for being here with us today.
Thank you for listening, tuningin, and that's it. It's a wrap.
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