Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/448937
Guests here will find a Napa, Calif.–in- spired menu with small plates such as goat cheese beignets and pan-seared crab cakes, stone-fired pizza, artisan cheese flights, and seafood, poultry and beef entrées — all of it designed to pair perfectly with 30 wines by the glass and 300 by the bottle. Crú also happens to epitomize a "snacking" trend that is taking hold, according to Lauren Hallow, an edi- tor and analyst at Chicago-based Tech- nomic, a food industry research firm. "People aren't necessarily doing the typi- cal three meals per day thing," she said. "They're snacking between meals, and that's where the third-place restaurants work out pretty well — you can go and not eat a full meal; you can get a drink and a cheese plate or a glass of wine and some tapas instead." ComforTabLe GaTHeriNG spot between work and home, a place for sitting back to enjoy food and drink in an environment that happens to be more than just a restaurant or bar — this is what has come to be known as a "third place." Starbucks is a model of the concept, and so are some bistros and wine bars. Crú food & Wine bar, too, has made a name among third-place sites. Crú is one of several restaurant con- cepts under the umbrella of restaurant Works, a Dallas-based hospitality man- agement company. in 2001, the com- pany's first year of operation, it opened ferré ristorante e bar, a Tuscan-style italian restaurant, at West Village — one of the first urban lifestyle centers to open in the Dallas area. following that, res- taurant Works opened an adjacent Crú restaurant, the chain's very first. ferré has since closed, but Crú has done so well that the company opened 11 of them in Texas — across austin, Dallas and Hous- ton — and in Denver and atlanta; res- taurant Works has also opened a Princi italia restaurant and a Victory Tavern City Grille, both in Dallas. The company operates all of these except for one Crú each at the Denver and Dallas airports. future expansion will mean finding A Drink and a bite CRU offeRs a plaCe to kiCk baCk on the way home fRom woRk By Misty Milioto r e t A i l i n g t o d A y 20 S C t / f e b R U a R y 2 0 1 5 P h o t o : R o b e R t Y u