Meet Brandon Carter and Sam Howard of Cedar & Vine in Lake Highlands

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Carter and Sam Howard.

The founders are a group of 2002 Lake Highlands graduates that currently include husband and wife teams Sam and Jessica Howard and Brandon and Ashlee Carter. We collaborated with some of our other former classmates (Jimmy Cannon, Will & Gabi Buehring), each of whom brought their own unique skillsets to the project.

In early 2017, we purchased the former restaurant known as Neighbor’s Casual Kitchen and raised capital in the neighborhood from friends and family and neighbors. The idea was to create a restaurant, unlike anything we had in Lake Highlands – something that was more female friendly and wine-centric in an upscale casual atmosphere. The menu would be approachable but somewhat refined, and we would have a full bar with a cocktail program, as well as both beer and wine on tap (wine being the differentiator!).

With help from our partners at Patten Custom Homes (Feild & Natalie Patten), we remodeled the space into our vision and called it Cedar & Vine. The restaurant quietly opened in December 2017. We literally opened the doors one day and said to the folks walking in the parking lot “hey guys we’re open.” No grand openings or parties. Just good old fashioned neighborhood word of mouth.

Today, we have been open for over 18 months and pride ourselves on periodic menu changes to keep it fresh and offering a “home away from home” space for people to come and enjoy or rent out for a special occasion. We aim to immerse ourselves in the LH community and find ways to partner with local organizations.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course, we struggled with the normal challenges that any business faces, but we pride ourselves in our ability to collectively and effectively make a decision. If there’s something I don’t love but makes sense, I’ll go with it. But the next time around maybe I’ll get my way! Cooperation and sacrifice go a long way in a partnership.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cedar & Vine – what should we know?
We are most proud of our business is local. We are a bunch of old LH grads most of which who live in the area today and are raising families. We all have jobs and kids to care for, etc., so the restaurant is a side project for all of us and really just a labor of love. We wanted to give something back to the community.

In Spring 2019, Cedar & Vine added a new management team consisting of Shimond Bradley (chef) and Justin Bulla (manager). Shimond is a long-tenured Dallas-area chef who learned under Omar Flores, founder of Whistle Britches and also a James Beard semifinalist in 2017 for his work at Casa Rubia in Trinity Groves. Justin, our general manager, comes by way of Kelly’s in Allen and Mash’d in Frisco, both of which are high-volume, upbeat restaurants where service comes first. Together, Shimond and Justin are working to assemble a tremendous staff to best serve the Lake Highlands community. Shimond rolled out a new menu in late June, which features some of the C&V favorites, but a number of new items including the hit Cacio e Pepe and the BBQ Pork Steak. He also has stepped up our game as it relates to features, spotlighting a market fish throughout the week and adding an item or two on the weekends as well – just check the chalkboard when you’re in. Justin, who helps oversee our bar, helped craft some of our newest cocktails like the True Whiskey Sour, as well as our two new frozen drinks – the Frose and the Frozen Blackberry Mojito. In addition, he helped select our new beer/cider menu, including our new #1 top seller Cigar City Jai Alai IPA. Say hello to these guys next time you are in. They love to share ideas with the guests!

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
One of the biggest lessons we learned was to seek out advice from others who know more than you. In doing so, we realized we knew very little, so there was a lot of advice sought!

Personally, I would like to thank Darin Klemchuk, my stepdad David Segrest and my father in law Larry Patterson for mentoring my wife and me through this process.

Brandon Murphy and Bret Sano of Caliber Creative are LH guys and made all of our logos. They were very generous with their time.

The investors need a shout out for taking a chance on us, with just a business plan and a sales pitch!

Thanks to the Advocate and Carol Toler for taking notice and writing about us early on. Thanks to Kathy and Rob Stewart and Adam and Lacy McGough for having our backs!

But the biggest thanks though should go out to Ashlee Carter and Jessica Howard who catch everything that falls through the cracks and frankly just give the most time to the business out of any of us. Without them, this is not possible.

Contact Info:

• Address: Cedar & Vine – Community Kitchen + Cocktails
  9661 Audelia Road, Suite 105
  Dallas, TX 75238
• Website: www.cedarvinetx.com
• Phone: 214-349-2233
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @cedar_vine
• Facebook: @cedarvinetx

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.