The story about going to Shreveport with best bud Pat Green was interrupted by a ringing cell phone for the umpteenth time. A businesswoman had tracked down Grady Spears to tout a Southlake property as perfect for an upscale restaurant.

Spears was gracious but brief. "That's great ... thanks ... yeah ... hey, can you call me back tomorrow? I'm kind of tied up now." He hung up.

"Give me time to mourn," he said with a sigh.

Only two days had passed since Chisholm Club in Sundance Square announced "creative changes" that shoved executive chef Spears out of the top-of-the-line restaurant he helped create less than two years ago. The split was reminiscent of his 2000 departure from Reata, where during the late 1990s he gained fame for his cowboy cuisine and country boy charm. He put Reata on the map but generated a perception among insiders that he worked too little, played too much, and received too much credit.

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