If Jason Dady has planted deep roots in the hospitality industry, it’s because he started out with deep roots in the hospitality industry. One set of grandparents—Gale and Ollie Dady—owned a local tavern for nearly 40 years, where the young Dady learned the value of customer connections. As if that wasn’t enough to prime a young man already in love with cooking, Dady’s maternal grandfather, Charlie Murphy, was a master butcher and favorite meat expert with locals.

Dady quickly took his passion from familial roots to official training. He studied at Texas Tech University, earning his BA in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management. With front-of-house and administrative skills firmly established, Dady went on to attend the California Culinary Academy. While there, Dady worked at Stars Bar and Dining under Chef Chris Fernandez. And after graduating, Dady’s travels took him to Napa and the Beringer Wine Estate, where he honed his skills in New American cuisine under Executive Chef David Frakes. Dady fused his front- and back-of-house savvy while assisting in the opening of two restaurants.

In 2001, back on his native Texas soil, Dady planted his first San Antonio roots with The Lodge Restaurant of Castle Hills, featuring one of the city’s first tasting menus. He followed that up with small plates cuisine at BIN 555 Restaurant & Wine Bar in 2006, and two locations of Tre Trattoria, an Italian restaurant with a focus on fresh-made pasta. Last year saw the inception of the “DUK Truck”—a bright yellow gourmet pop-up truck (or “Dady’s Underground Kitchen”) that brings market-driven street food to local festivals and the like. And Two Bros. BBQ Market is Dady’s most recent—and most emphatically Texan—contribution to the San Antonio dining landscape. But given his proven penchant for innovation, and the success of the legacy he’s building upon, it’s likely Dady will continue to build into the next generation of family success, and San Antonio cuisine.