Connecting the Dots – My Big Break with The Anatole Hotel

My mother, who was also my company’s bookeeper for many years, often opined that my career success was due to equal parts elbow grease, good timing, and a couple astoundingly lucky breaks. I agree with her for the most part, but I also subscribe to the anecdote, “the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

My first BIG break was the result of writing a letter to developer Trammell Crow in the mid-70s when I read about his ambitious plan to build The Anatole Hotel, Dallas’ first atrium hotel, destined to become the convention center of the southwest. In Atlanta, architect John Portman had designed 3 atrium hotels at that point, and Trammell Crow thought it was time Dallas stepped up to the plate. I had moved on from my first job selling mattresses and furniture in a downtown department store, and was designing theme restaurants with a partner, Fred Merrill.  You are dating yourself if you remember our early projects such as the Railhead, the original Chili’s on Greenville Avenue, Ichabod’s, Barney Oldfield’s, Kitty Hawk and others. When I read that Trammell Crow was planning 7 restaurants for The Anatole, I couldn’t imagine anyone more qualified than myself (youth, naiveté, chutzpah – in spades) to conceptualize themes and design those restaurants! I was surprised, delighted and scared to death when he responded to my pitch letter and scheduled an appointment with me. I quickly put together a presentation and, amazingly, won the contract. I consider it the project that changed everything for me. With Trammell Crow’s commitment to hire me to design the Anatole restaurants, I had the ability to hire additional staff, upgrade my offices and take my next big leap. I made up for my lack of experience by working longer and harder than anyone on the site. I earned the development team’s respect and was subsequently awarded a larger portion of the design contract. 

The Anatole project broadened my horizons. It was a master class in hospitality design, client relations, international travel, exposure to different cultures, negotiating contracts, vendor relations, purchasing, logistics and more. 

I toured every hotel imaginable in North America, then flew to Hong Kong and Bangkok, then to Ceylon where I met Ena DeSilva who fabricated the fabulous batiks that we hung in the central atrium (photo below), then to Copenhagen to meet Bjorn Wiinblad who created the iconic ceramics for one of the restaurants. I still have no idea how my 30 year old self had the courage to accomplish all that, but I think a large factor was that Trammell Crow had entrusted me with this huge responsibility and I absolutely was not going to disappoint him – that was simply not an option. 

A treasure from my archives – a personal handwritten note from Trammell. This still means the world to me. To this day, I tip my hat to Trammell Crow whenever I am asked about my early career. His confidence in my ability was the spark that ignited my own self-confidence and spurred my ambitions. He took a huge risk in hiring a neophyte designer, and I never forgot that. I paid it forward at every turn as my own career began to take off. I tried to mentor young talent and nudged employees to take chances with their own careers. 

If you sat at my desk in my office on Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas anytime over the past 30 years, you probably remember a leather placard that reads “It CAN Be Done.” That simple mantra defined my business ideology from the Anatole project forward through the next 40 years. More about that placard in a future blog!