Duran flips script with Retro Metro

Something familiar to fans of the long-running Metropolitan Grill restaurant is now open in Magers Crossing on the southwest side.

Retro Metro, a sister eatery to Metropolitan Grill, opened Dec. 1 at 2150 W. Republic Road, Ste. 104. It replaces Great American Taco Co., which shuttered in October. Both concepts are co-owned by longtime restaurateur Pat Duran and Tyler Thompson, of the Thompson Sales Co. auto family. The two continue to operate a Great American Taco Co. restaurant on East Battlefield Road.

Both Retro Metro and Metropolitan Grill underwent simultaneous renovations of roughly $100,000, Thompson said. New furniture, lighting and finishes were installed at Metropolitan Grill, along with creation of a new menu. Retro Metro received a new paint job and its namesake restaurant’s chandeliers and furniture.

“It’s just like walking into old Metro,” Duran said, noting Retro Metro’s menu has classic dishes that date back to Metropolitan Grill’s 1994 opening. “The kitchen was set up exactly the way I needed it, so it was a really quick flip for us. It’s kind of unheard of to flip a restaurant in 45 days, and it’s just because we really didn’t need to do that much to it.”

Duran bought Metropolitan Grill from Fred Coco in 2006, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

It’s not the first restaurant change in an identical space for Duran. He opened Hard Knox BBQ LLC last year in the former home of his Vespa Kitchen concept, which shuttered in 2018, according to past SBJ reporting. Similarly, in 2013, he started Springfield Gourmet Taco Co. – later renamed Great American Taco Co. – in space where he opened Santa Fe Grill in 2012. He moved it in 2016 to 2915 E. Battlefield Road from East Sunshine Street.

Opportunity knocks
The second Great American Taco Co. – the first planned franchise store for the concept – opened in April 2018 in Magers Crossing.

Duran cited increased fast-casual restaurant market competition in south Springfield and ongoing slow sales compounded by the coronavirus pandemic as contributors to shutting it down. Year-over-year business was down roughly 30%, he said, declining to disclose financials.

“It probably could have made a comeback, but it was going to be a long road,” he said. “I have a strong brand in Metropolitan Grill, and I saw there was an opportunity on this side of town for fine dining.”

Duran identified Char Steakhouse & Oyster Bar on East Republic Road as one of the few fine-dining options near Retro Metro.

“This is something we thought would do very well, especially in that part of town,” Thompson said. “It’s something that Pat is very good at with the success and history of Metropolitan Grill.”

Change in direction
The Great American Taco Co. franchise concept has never taken off, Duran said. The second taco restaurant opened in 2016 in Bentonville, Arkansas, only to close a few months after the Republic Road eatery launched in Springfield. Plans were in motion in 2016 for additional restaurants outside of Springfield, according to past reporting. Duran said those opportunities didn’t materialize and no other Great American Taco Co. restaurants are currently in the works. However, he isn’t ready to give up on franchising opportunities.

“We’re still trying to define the brand for sure,” he said. “I wouldn’t say my Taco Co. dream is all the way over, but it’s definitely on pause for a little while as we reestablish how to evaluate that brand and move forward with it.”

Closure of the Bentonville restaurant in 2018 was largely tied to Duran’s inability to be there often enough, he said.

“It was too far away. I had a grand idea of taking my brand to a city I enjoyed visiting,” he said. “It’s really hard to run an up-and-coming brand when you can only be there two days a week.”

While the pandemic helped deliver a knockout blow to Springfield’s second Great American Taco Co. restaurant, the owners have no plans to close on Battlefield Road. Additionally, Duran said the company’s food truck, which started in 2017, has had “a breakout year,” at least doubling sales from last year. The truck travels to businesses, hospitals and clinics all over town, as well as works special events such as weddings and birthday parties.

“We were able to bring the food experience to them,” he said, citing the pandemic as a growth contributor. “It was a very limited exposure situation. Where we were only doing about two to three gigs a month, now we do three to four a week.”

Although Thompson and Duran expressed disappointment in Great American Taco Co. not working out on Republic Road, both are excited to turn the page to Retro Metro. Duran said they never considered walking away from the building space they first occupied over two years ago. They have three years left on the lease.

“The restaurant business is a bit of a roller-coaster ride. The highs are high and the lows are low,” Duran said, noting this year has been the most challenging in his career. “But real restaurateurs never get off the ride.”