I'd love for you both to be right but having lived in this neighborhood for several years, and seeing many restaurants close, my optimism isn't high. Of course that changes a lot once View Point is occupied and the Palomar is finished.
Places like Ecco, and the newer Cuerno and Beleza, are all great places but also benefit from being part of larger restaurant groups that provide an instant reputation. Same for Marlows being a known name in town. For the same reason I fully expect Taco Mac (Metropolis) to be an instant hit where Stool Pigeons failed. (Although I realize the latter had terrible management.)
Another thing that Marlow's has really exceeded at is marketing the free parking in the bldg. Something The Grape Midtown failed to do.