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As unlikely restaurant-success scenarios go, a look at what's been pulled off at that new Whisque Mesquite Grill and Bar out at Coors Boulevard and Montaño Road Northwest deserves attention.

In fact, given the circumstances, "unlikely" would be almost charitable.

But an interesting thing has happened there, it seems to me. A point has been proven about this city. Two in fact.

And it proves, yet again, that sometimes in life it takes an outsider's eyes to see things a bit differently.

A little money and a track record don't hurt, either.

The owner is Julian Wright, 38, who, after catching up with him in his Phoenix office, seems older than that in experience. After school at Temple University in Philly and Arizona State in Tempe, he hit the restaurant road. He made stops in Denver, Chicago and a few more places in between before coming back to Phoenix with a partner and aspirations for national chain prominence.

That didn't last long.

As a sole owner, his first two places in Tempe were hits, but he sold them because they didn't quite hit what he likes to call the "sweet spot" of a demographic he wanted to serve.

And that's when Albuquerque came into his life - and his into ours. A regular customer in Tempe was Duke City resident Russ Merrill, a spring training buff who went to Phoenix for the games and stopped at Wright's place.

Apparently Merrill is a pretty good Albuquerque ambassador, because it didn't take long for Wright to start exploring the possibilities here. And just like that, another hit. This time, the Library Bar and Grill in Downtown.

He still owns it, but, again, it just didn't hit that spot, he said.

Good thing for you, West Siders, because his itch is now scratched. And judging from the scene in the parking lot, and when I cruised through a few nights ago, you like what you see.

"I've never ever had so many people thank me for opening, for any business I've ever done or been a part of," Wright told me. "If I'm in, I get at least three or four people shaking my hand and thanking me."

And that brings me to proven point No. 1 - the viability of the West Side for independent restaurant operators who set up shop in the teeth of national chains.

There's a sense of a white flag. It's daunting. Unless an independent can play on their chain-style scale for size, menu, décor and such, it's a tough go.

Wright had a couple things going his way that allowed for a nose-to-nose, pre-fight glove touch: experience and money. The risk was $4.5 million for that 14,000-square-foot building (an unfinished Eckerd's Drugs), and the Whisque 7,000-square-foot addition.

Look, not many locals can carry off a teak-and-leather vibe, but if you're gonna get in the ring in this business, you have to be in the same weight class.

And there's point No. 2: the potential of the West Side clientele, and by extension, the changing nature of the Albuquerque demographic.

"The West Side has got a lot of holes," Wright said. "There are enough people there to warrant some good independents."

What he's built is right in the sweet spot - there's that term again - of a trend of the quasi-restaurant that serves as a socializing spot. The demographic it serves is pretty well done with a classic bar scene but not done going out.

It's a tricky balance. Again, if you thought the West Side couldn't carry that, Wright has proved a point. It's been there all along, waiting.

"The great thing is it's the kind of client we're trying to attract - 30 to 40 (years old) who still want to socialize and have some money to spend," Wright said.

"You've got to have the guts to do it," he went on. "There's a crowd that appreciates it, but not the majority. I wanted to roll the dice a little bit, and so far people are loving it."

Good on him. A lot of winners here. Just look at that parking lot.