Piece of the past

CHECK OUT THIS OLD TOWN ROAD: GARLAND ROAD IS NOW A DALLAS HOTSPOT LINED WITH LOCAL BOUTIQUES AND RESTAURANTS. ORIGINALLY ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION, GARLAND ROAD WAS KNOWN AS EAST PIKE BEFORE BECOMING PART OF THE BANKHEAD HIGHWAY.

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n Protest planned near Flag Pole Hill

was a 1978 Ritalin kid.

— LYNN DAVENPORT, EDUCATIONAL ADVOCATE

Read about Davenport’s educational advocacy on page 19.

Celebrity News

RAPPER 2 CHAINZ visited Dallas for his show “Most Expensivest.” The rapper was accompanied by Mark Cuban. Together they visited the Dallas Equestrian Center as part of a series with GQ and Vice.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO ON OUR WEBSITE.

lakehighlands.advocatemag.com

Search: 2 Chainz n Bonton Village in Lake Highlands would grow food, provide jobs n Neighbors push back against plans for concrete batch plant near Zacha Junction n ‘Something had to change’: Protest remains peaceful at Flag Pole Hill n Neighborhood moms create Facebook group to fight racism. It gained 1,000 members in one week

Update

The Bath House Cultural Center began construction on its $1.5 million renovations. The expected completion date was August, but the coronavirus delayed construction. The new completion date is November.

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Invest In Yourself

This LHHS alumna went from working with big-name artists to sleeping on airport couches as she pitched to investors. Now she runs a multimillion-dollar investment company.

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We worse

Not many LHHS alumni can say they’ve watched Pharrell perform at Coachella with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, but that’s just one of the many adventures that Arlan Hamilton has encountered during her career. Hamilton worked as a tour manager for Norwegian pop punk band goldenboy. She climbed the ladder to work as production coordinator for big names like Jason Derulo, Toni Braxton and Kirk Franklin. While working on tours, she noticed capital investments were only being made to a certain demographic. So Hamilton flew to Silicon Valley to start her venture capital firm, Backstage Capital, dedicated to investing in people of color, women and those who identify as LGBTQ. Hamilton identifies with all three. The company has raised more than $7 million and invested in more than 130 startups.

On touring with goldenboy in her early 20s: I taught myself how to book tours. I booked them two summer tours in a row. I brought them out here and went on tour. It was one of the most fun times of my life. You’re on the road with these guys, and they’re wacky and playing music. You’re meeting new people every day.

On working as a production coordinator for Kirk Franklin: I actually worked with Kirk a couple of times. One time we were on tour for Live Nation, and I was the production coordinator for a big gospel tour. Before that, I was his talent wrangler for a TV show called, “Sunday’s Best” for BET. I was assigned to him directly because of my tone. I can calm people down and be measured in situations, and he thought it was professional.

How her career in entertainment led to investment banking: I was noticing people like Ashton Kutcher, Ellen DeGeneres and Justin Bieber making investments in companies in Silicon Valley. I realized that most of the funding goes to white men. Most of this funding, all of these millions of dollars, are going to very specific people. The diversity is there. Diverse founders of companies are making things, but the funding for it was just, “OK, we’re going to give it to anyone who looks like Mark Zuckerberg.”

On going to Silicon Valley: It was about trying to raise capital to invest in other people. It was tough. It was a lot of hard work … going to new people, saying, “You are rich. This is something that is probably going to be interesting, and you should pay attention.” Finally, a couple of people started to get it, and then a couple more … and that turned into putting several of them together, and I raised a few million dollars. It’s not an overnight thing at all.

Her new book, “It’s About Damn Time”: It’s turned out to be part memoir, part self-help and part business. I think it’s for people who feel underestimated. The main audience is people who want to start companies or who are starting companies already. They feel like they are overlooked, so a lot of people who read the book are women of color. I have white men who will read the book, and they’ll say, “I didn’t expect to resonate so much.” I read a bunch of books by white men in business, and I didn’t think twice about it, so it’s probably a good idea for white men to read books by black women in business.

On her “side fund” with Mark Cuban: Last year, he put a million dollars into it. He said, “Just invest in whatever you want to invest in.” We co-manage. We’ve invested in 12 companies. On our horizon is to continue to work together and think of ways that we can add value to Dallas.

Women who inspire her: My mom, Mrs. Earline Sims. She lives in Dallas; she brought us up there. I look up to her the most. I also look up to people like Janet Jackson, who I’ve looked up to for most of my life. And all of the women I’ve been able to invest in.

The famous alumni she would work with:

I would love to connect with St. Vincent, Annie. I remember I ran into her in the hallway once. She was sitting on the ground in front of lockers, and I remember she would go to New York every once in a while to do modeling. I think we would have a lot in common.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Story by MARISSA ALVARADO | Photography by KATHY TRAN

DID YOU KNOW?

The art on SoCo’s walls are created by Jonny Bean and they are for sale.

IF THERE’S ANYONE YOU CAN TRUST WITH GOOD COFFEE , it’s Jonny Bean and his partner Charles Bader.

The two come from Seattle, coffee capital of the United States.

“When Charlie and I moved here, the Southern hospitality was just really refreshing and so we wanted to go with that theme,” Bean says.

SoCo Southern Comfort Coffee House and Bistro is an ode to that, along with the owners’ friendliness.

“We strive daily trying to make sure that we’re the best that we can be in customer service,” Bean says. “The customers are the ones who make you. We create the environment for them and then they keep us going.”

Switching to takeout only during the coronavirus pandemic was challenging for the owners because of their mission to create an experience for customers.

“That’s half the fun, plating it and making it beautiful,” Bean says.

Although they missed having people dining in, they’ve engaged customers who still come inside to order food and have stayed gracious through the experience.

The bistro is one of the newest additions to the Lakeridge Village shopping center.

“It’s a community of its own. As the business owners we’re building our own community within a community,” he says. “Supporting each other and helping each other get through.”

The SoCo menu was inspired by the owners’ favorite foods.

“I feel like I’m sharing it with the world,” Bean says. “We spend a lot of time developing the recipes and trying to improve daily.”

The avocado toast with baby arugula, thinly sliced radishes, pickled red onion, an egg and chili is popular among the Lake Highlands crowd.

Another favorite is the SoCo crispy fried chicken sandwich with stacked mixed greens, queso, red onions and tomato.

The pastries are made in-house.

“The Lake Highlands ladies love our scones,” Bean says. “They’re a little bit possessive of them, in a good way.”

Sticky buns are also popular.

The bistro’s coffee comes from Seattle Café Vivace, a brand that Bean says he’s been drinking since he was 18 years old.

“Everything we do, there’s a lot of thought put into it and love into it,” Bean says. “It’s about passion of food, conversing and coming to a place and enjoying your time together. That’s the whole importance, making a great environment for people to enjoy their life because God knows we need it.”

SoCo Coffee House and Bistro, 9660 Audelia Road, Suite 123. 469-248-2557.

Tuesday through Sunday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday: closed Socogoodeats.com.