The future is filled with opportunity, he said, describing some of his upcoming plans, including writing more books, getting involved in tv projects, and partnering with Nolan Ryan to sell beef products. An impressive set of plans for building a future. Over the next few days, however, the Weekly's inquiries showed them looking more like sand castles. Spears was most excited about teaming with Ryan, the Hall of Fame baseball pitcher who now sells his own brand of beef. Spears and Ryan met at Reata years ago, and Spears has cooked at parties on Ryan's behalf. Ryan penned the foreword to his friend's most recent book. Earlier this year they appeared together on Home Shopping Network (HSN). "We sold $88,000 worth of beef in 18 minutes," Spears said proudly. Ryan didn't return the Weekly's call but a company spokesman did. CEO Charlie Bradbury said Ryan and Spears are friends but probably won't develop a business relationship. "It's a pretty loose affiliation," he said. "Grady helped us do some cooking promotions. A lot of it he has just done because of his relationship with Nolan." He laughed when asked about the $88,000 in HSN sales. "I wish that were true," he said. "Sometimes Grady's not the best guy for numbers." The figure was closer to $20,000, he said. Ryan and Spears returned to HSN in March and sold about the same amount. Ryan doesn't particularly enjoy the sales pitch segments, and so Spears returned a third time by himself in April. Sales dropped considerable, although Bradbury wouldn't say how much. "We definitely noticed that Nolan wasn't there," he said. "It wasn't as good as it had been the previous times. I don't know that it's surprising. Nolan is a big marketing force." No other plans with Spears are currently in the works, Bradbury said. "I don't know if we may try some other spokespeople," he said. "We haven't made any long-term commitments to anybody." Home Shopping Network, however, has shown interest in teaming with Spears to sell a line of cookware, although no agreement has been reached. Spears' appeal to cookbook publishers may also be waning. The publisher for his first four books, and the distributor for his most recent book, is Ten Speed Press of California. Special markets director Dennis Hayes said Spears worked hard to write and promote his books and sold more than 100,000 combined copies, which he called "an adequate number." But the publisher doesn't expect to work with Spears in the future. "We've covered everything we want to cover in that [cowboy cooking] category," Hayes said "Texas has a profusion of books in that area. We started something that other publishers jumped in on, and our eyes have wandered to other regions." Spears says he has another publisher interested in him, although no deals have been made. As for possible tv projects, Spears mentioned one in particular, called Texas Food: Home On The Range, a show he was working on with local producer Chris Quinn. However, mutual acquaintances say Spears and Quinn have had a falling out, and the chances of their teaming together for a tv show are slim. Quinn, who is traveling, was unavailable for comment. Spears is a bubbling brook of ideas. He mentioned several concepts for restaurants he envisions in Fort Worth, from a truck-stop-style place to an art gallery/restaurant combination. Other people might see him as a guy made of smoke and mirrors -- not a scam artist or snake oil salesman, but someone whose talent and friendliness cover up a defective business sense. He sees himself as a man on a temporary downturn, crouched and ready to spring back into the public consciousness. Clay Wilson, a chef who has known Spears for years and considers him "a fun, outgoing guy," said the cowboy cook should never be counted out. "I'm sure he'll keep moving on, finding projects, and swooning investors, and he will do just fine," Wilson said. "He needs to keep it small and concentrate on one property, and it will probably be the best food anyone could have. When he starts taking on all these projects, it bleeds him." Spears is now looking at the Nutt House as his flagship restaurant, but that ship might be taking on water as well. The building's owners are trying to sell, and observers are wondering whether the hotel and restaurant can stay open until a buyer steps forward. The Nutt House Restaurant still has three years on its lease, and realtor Ian Moore said new owners would honor that commitment. Then there's the ADD issue. Spears admitted it affects his relationships and organization. "It's like you're trying to file too many files at one time, and your brain doesn't have space," he said. He has sought treatment for years but dislikes medicating himself. "Is it bad that I have ADD, do you think?" he asked, his puppy dog eyes seeking acceptance. "I'm not ashamed of it. In fact, it'd be kind of boring without it. I like being in a whirlwind." Spears seems confident he will create more popular eateries and reach his dream of making Fort Worth the cowboy food capital of the world. He is most proud that restaurants he helped to create, such as Reata and Chisholm Club, continue to thrive and have led to offshoots, such as Tim Love's Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, that perpetuate the Old West mindset that captivates Spears. "I've got a lot left in me," he said. "I hope the public will come back and try me out again. This time I'm going to do it on my own terms." As for going from cowboy cuisine's poster boy to dart board, he admits he deserves some of the rancor. "I look in the mirror sometimes and realize I am my own worst enemy, but I won't ever stop being passionate," he said. "I started out when I was 20, and I know I did dumb things and pissed people off. I'm still a young man and I'm still doing some things wrong. But we've done a whole lot of things right."
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