All eyes are on Madrina, set to open in the coming weeks inside the former home of CJ Mugg's in Webster Groves (MO). But the details of how the restaurant came together are harder to discern – what’s unfolding at the corner of W. Lockwood and N. Gore Avenues has been built from relationships, trust and respect formed over time.

The process created a partnership between two families – Stanley Browne and Arlene Maminta Browne, co-owners of Robust, and Frank Romano and Laura Burns, co-owners of The Parkmoor – and an all-star hospitality team far stronger than bricks and mortar. The project is a long time coming for Romano, who began his restaurant career at Kemoll’s and knew early on that his future was in the industry.