At Le Bilboquet, a boutique French bistro in Dallas, the servers know Bill Armstrong well enough to refer to him by his first name.
Bill, they say, likes to sit on the patio for dinner. They know Bill’s “usual” order. Sometimes, Bill eats here twice a day. He’s had the fish, chicken and the steak, and he has tested his seasoned pallet on many of the wines (Bill and wife Elisabeth own a California winery).
Slender and tall, Bill arrives at the restaurant dressed as one would expect from a second-generation Texas oil man—jeans and a button-down. Bill is worth millions, some of which he’s pumped into his alma mater, Southern Methodist. For instance, SMU’s 3-year-old fieldhouse bears his last name, and so does a campus dormitory. He says he and Elisabeth have donated roughly $30 million to the school.
