Shannon Shelmire Wynne (born December 2, 1951) is an American restaurateur living in Dallas, TX. Wynne currently co-owns and operates restaurants in six states and 14 cities, including The Flying Saucers in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri; The Flying Fish in Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas; Rodeo Goat in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas; and Mudhen Meat and Greens, The Meddlesome Moth and LARK on the Park in Dallas.
Early life and family
The Wynne family is deeply rooted in Dallas, Wills Point, and Austin, Texas. Wynne was born in 1951 in Dallas, Texas.
He is the son of Joann (née Ebeling) and Angus G. Wynne Jr. His father was a developer in the postwar housing boom when he was president of the American Home Realty Company, developers of Wynewood Village in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. At the time, it was the largest real estate development of its kind in the country. Along with real estate, Wynne Jr. was involved in the amusement park business and founded the Great Southwest Corporation, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags over Georgia, and Six Flags over Mid-America.
Wynne is the grandson of Nemo Shelmire Wynne and Angus G. Wynne Sr., an East Texas lawyer who was prominent in Democratic Party politics and was the first president of the State Bar of Texas.
Wynne is the great grandson of William Benjamin "Buck" Wynne, an eminent Dallas lawyer, and Margaret Henderson Wynne.
On his paternal grandmother’s side, he is the great grandson of Dr. Jesse Bedford Shelmire, a distinguished and pioneer dermatologist who was the first in the Southwest to be honored with membership in the American Dermatological Association, and served as the chair of dermatology at Baylor University College of Medicine, which he held until his retirement in 1927.
Wynne has two older brothers, Angus Gilchrist Wynne III and David Ebeling Wynne, and one sister, Mary Temple Wynne.
Professional Life
Wynne began as a restaurateur in 1980, after his favorite bar in Dallas, the Stoneleigh P, burned down. Wynne and a group of friends cobbled together their resources and opened 8.0 Bar ("Eight-Oh"). 8.0 lit up the Dallas nightclub scene and, over the next three years, Wynne opened a string of O-clubs and restaurants across Dallas including Nostromo, The Rio Room, Rocco Oyster Bar, Mexico, and Tango(where Count Basie played opening night).
By 1982, the "O" restaurants and venues were what was happening in Dallas. Wynne's Nostromo was a popular, yet signless, restaurant. It spawned The Rio Room, located in the back of Nostromo.
Wynne ventured into casual dining with the opening of a Tex-Mex Mexican restaurant, Mexico, and an Italian restaurant, Palermo. Wynne's popular Rocco Oyster Bar was known for its fresh seafood, New Orleans standards juke box and white tile setting.
James Brown, Lisa Lobe, Joe King Carrasco and Tina Turner on her comeback could be found playing at Tango, with Bob "Daddy-O" Wade's 'Six Frogs Over Greenville' on top of the building where, inside the former bank building, there was plenty of room to dance.
In 1994, Wynne designed and opened 8.0 Bar in Sundance Square in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 1995, Wynne designed and opened the first Flying Saucer Draught Emporium in Sundance Square with Keith Schlabs. The restaurant included an extensive beer selection, with hundreds of options in bottles and over 80 quality hand-crafted beers on tap. The Flying Saucer now has three location in the DFW metroplex as well as other units including Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Lake Ray Hubbard and Sugarland; Kansas City, Missouri; LIttle Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Cordova, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
In May 2012 the Fort Worth 8.0 on Sundance Square was closed to make way for The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium and Bird Cafe.
In 2002, Wynne designed and opened the first Flying Fish in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Flying Fish serves catfish, shrimp, oysters, crawfish and other seafood. There are locations in Addison, Texas, Dallas, Texas, Garland, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, Arlington, Texas and Memphis, Tennessee.
In 2010, Wynne designed and opened Meddlesome Moth, a gastro pub described as a tap room with chef driven menu. The restaurant, the first to be located in the Dallas Design District, offers a wide beer selection with rare cask tapped weekly. The Moth features art works by James Surls, Frank Tolbert, DImitri Vail and many others.
In 2013, Wynne designed and opened LARK on the Park overlooking Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, TX.
Philanthropy
Wynne is currently on the board of The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center. He has also served on the board of the North Texas Food Bank and KERA radio in Dallas. He co-founded Preservation Park Cities, now called Park Cities Historical and Preservation Society since merging with the Park Cities Historical Society. Wynne co-founded the David Dike Art Auction with Texas art expert David Dike. A friend of the arts, Wynne collects works by Texas artists, including those from the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) known as The Dallas Nine as well as many current artists including David Bates, Bill Haveron, James Surls and many others. Wynne currently also serves on the Board of the Lone Star Film Festival in Fort Worth, Texas.
Personal life
From his first marriage to Patti Jo (Gilpin) née Oldham, Wynne has a son, Shannon Shelmire “Sam†Wynne Jr. (born 1984). Patti was the daughter of Philadelphia reporter Jim O'Brien and is the sister of actress Peri Gilpin, well known for her role as Roz Doyle in Frasier.
From his marriage to Brycie Sue Hoecker, Shannon is the father of triplets, Isabella Mae McCarty Wynne, Bowie Hoecker Wynne and Angus Augustus Wynne (born 1996).
Wynne is married to Kimberly Claire Daulton(wed August 14, 2010) and has two step daughters; Raynor Elizabeth Bearden (born 1989) and Wynonah "Wynn" Claire Bearden (born 1991).
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