The former owner of popular Dallas restaurant The Grape has made a move to Plano. In December, chef and restaurateur Brian C. Luscher was announced as the new director of culinary operations at 33 Restaurant Group, the company that owns Plano’s Taverna Rossa and Union Bear restaurants. Brian is a longtime friend of company founder and CEO Preston Lancaster.
“I’ve admired from afar what Preston has been doing over the past decade,” Brian said. “It’s inspiring to watch what he’s doing not only in the business, but the culture within the business.”
Brian has been around restaurants his entire life. He grew up outside of Chicago where his family owned a burger joint. By the time he turned 12 he was already washing dishes in the eatery. He attended the Culinary Institute of America and later served as executive chef at TPC Craig Ranch when it was opening up. It was there that he met Preston.
“I was out of college and kind of in the planning and exploring phase for some restaurant dreams,” Preston recalled. “I’d meet up with Brian and we’d bounce ideas off each other.”
The two stayed in touch as their careers soared. Brian even helped develop some of Preston’s menu items. Now he is looking forward to jumping in and seeing how he can improve upon what he feels is already a very successful operation.
“I feel pretty strongly that as important as it is to be a good leader, it’s just as important to be a great follower,” Brian said. “From line cooks to the dishwashers, the front of the house and the brew master, they’re the experts in their positions. I want to get in there and learn what they know.”
In addition to its Plano outposts, 33 Restaurants owns a second Taverna Rossa in Southlake; The Colony’s Heritage Pizza and Taproom; The Yard and Cadillac Pizza in McKinney. Preston says they are also developing a new concept at The Boardwalk at Granite Park where Hookline was formerly located.
“We’re working hard on that and having a lot of fun with it,” he said. “We’ll definitely be talking about that soon.”
Stay tuned…
33 Restaurant Group >
