Team
Grant Cooper - Managing Partner
Born and raised in Belgium, Grant received a gastronomic birthright that continues today to inform every Clark | Cooper Concepts restaurant. Refined through extensive travel throughout Europe, Grant’s experiences with food and restaurants overseas pushed him inexorably toward becoming a restauranteur.
Ever impressed with the level of personal service and attention to detail offered by Europe’s top restauranteurs, Grant began to understand that his strengths would lie at the front of the house. This realization was further distilled when Grant and a partner opened two very successful bars while attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, giving him an opportunity to learn operations and what makes good customer service first-hand.
Realizing that the restaurant business was about more than the drinks, Grant began to dream of a complete restaurant of his own. Enter Charles Clark, a kindred spirit, collaborator and friend who was the missing piece allowing Grant to focus on wine, the front-of-house and operations, while creating a complete experience for diners that has won the duo accolades in the industry for more than a decade.
Shawn Virene - Managing Partner
Armed with his motto that “communication is the most important key to success in the restaurant business,” Shawn Virene walks the talk as the consummate communicator and managing partner of Brasserie 19. Starting his career as a bus boy 26 years ago, and then moving up through the ranks as a waiter, cook and general manager, Virene has learned firsthand the elements that create a positive dining experience. And while he can still bus tables and serve patrons with the best of the best, Virene is widely known for his respected and intuitive sense for wine pairings.
An unquenchable thirst for knowledge on all things related to wine positioned Virene as the go-to guy to run Ibiza’s wine program —a massive 4,000-bottle, ever-changing collection — after amassing a loyal following as a waiter at Ibiza and previously at Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Ruggles Grill. Virene’s passion is the discovery of a great bottle of wine for an even better price to share with his customers – “a $40 bottle that drinks like a $400 bottle” – and he is thrilled to find a hidden gem to add to Ibiza’s well-populated wine list.
Virene has now taken his experience and expertise to Clark Cooper Concepts’ newest address, Brasserie 19, where he shares Charles Clark and Grant Cooper’s unwavering commitment to world-class food, pristine service and a sophisticated yet inviting neighborhood atmosphere.
