Douglas Bar and Grill in University Park, a restaurant near Southern Methodist University, will serve its last plates of barbecue, steaks and salmon on March 30, 2024.
The news might come as a surprise to some, said owner and namesake Doug Pickering. The restaurant was often busy, sandwiched between a row of restaurants and boutiques in the heart of University Park’s Snider Plaza. The Douglas has been open for nearly two years, since May 2022.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/JDTOFBMDSE6HRGPBRB3LY6XWWY.jpg)
Pickering says he’s closing the restaurant because he’s away from his wife and three young children, ages 4, 2 and 11 months, too often. “Is it really worth it to miss these times with my kids?” he said in an emotional interview with The Dallas Morning News. “I’m pretty worn out, mentally and physically. And emotional.”
“You have to do what’s best for yourself and your family.”
One reason he’s away from them so often is that Douglas shifted his business to mostly dinner hours so that customers could find a parking spot. Pickering calls the lack of parking options “impossible,” as some customers would circle Snider Plaza for 15 minutes at lunchtime looking for a spot, then cancel their reservation. Pickering said he went to multiple city council meetings to try to find a solution. His wife, Amanda Pickering, is part of the Snider Plaza Parking Task Force, a group offering guidance while the shopping center undergoes construction projects to improve the sidewalks and stormwater system.
A parking garage was added at the south end of Snider Plaza a few years ago, but it’s far enough away that Pickering said his customers don’t want to make the walk in the summertime heat.
Worse still, food delivery trucks clog thoroughfares during the day because they don’t have designated areas to park. Even Amazon deliveries are tough, Pickering said.
“I’ve had Amazon drivers call me and say, ‘Hey, I can’t park,’ and so I’ll come out and they’ll throw me a package from their car.”
“If you can’t get packages delivered, of course it’ll be hard to get customers.”
Pickering, a high school graduate, started the Douglas after spending a decade in California working in investment banking and for hedge funds. He moved back home, to University Park, and started a barbecue catering business called DWP BBQ that eventually blossomed into a pitmaster job. The Douglas came next, Pickering’s take on upscale barbecue. Original menu called for plates of meat and a burger at lunch, with dressed-up options like smoked salmon and steak at dinner. The restaurant has a handsome navy and wood interior, kind of like you’re eating inside a Ralph Lauren.
The menu changed when the hours shifted. His smoker, which can fit 50 briskets, is rarely full anymore, he said. The Douglas started selling oysters. Then it added housemade pasta. Pickering was proud of those dishes, but they took the Douglas away from its roots as a barbecue spot.
“Did I think, when we were under construction or opening, that we’d be serving Murder Point oysters every day? No,” he said. “Fresh pasta? Absolutely not.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/MSH4DCLKABCT7I6GMQWLDEPDWU.jpg)
The dish Pickering remains most proud of is the honey smoked salmon, an upscale dinner option that’s still tried-and-true barbecue. One of the best-sellers is the Douglas Burger, a double patty Wagyu smash burger with pimento cheese.
“That’s really how I would want to eat a burger,” Pickering said.
Customers also liked the pimento cheese served with deep-fried saltine crackers as an appetizer.
Pickering says he’s closed the restaurant in good standing with his landlord and that he’s heartbroken to do it. The restaurant will serve food until the end of dinner on Saturday, March 30, 2024. All Easter catering orders will be fulfilled the next day, but the restaurant will not reopen.
Pickering says he intends to take a break from barbecues and restaurants for now. He hopes to be back in the industry again someday.
“I’ve put the business ahead of my family,” he said. “I had a wake-up call. I need to be a father.”
After all, he said, the business was inspired by his father, Doug Senior. Pickering is the second Doug, and his oldest son is the third. The Douglas has three stars on its logo for the three Dougs.
Pickering was moved to tears when talking about the Douglas’ end.
“We’re happy with what we did,” he said. “It was my passion and dream. But sometimes you have to do what’s best for yourself and your family.”
The Douglas is at 6818 Snider Plaza, Dallas. It will remain open until March 30, 2024, except for Sunday, March 24, 2024. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.