BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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New Lake Highlands-owned biz at Park Lane shops

Crisp Salad Co. will open a second location in the new retail building under construction at The Shops at Park Lane, near Park and Greenville The new 2,188-square-foot Crisp will flank Zoe’s Kitchen. Both are scheduled for a spring 2015 opening. Crisp, partly owned by Lake Highlands resident John Zimmerman recently celebrated its Lower Greenville location’s one-year anniversary. The concept: employees craft signature and custom salads ranging in price from $7-$13.

Papa Murphy’s out, Bogo in

Two area Papa Murphy’s Pizza stores have been converted to Bogo Bistro, a pizza, wing and sandwich shop. This includes locations at Northwest Highway and Plano and Audelia at Buckingham. A Forbes Magazine article months ago outlined Papa Murphy’s many woes, which include unhappy franchisees, lawsuits and dwindling profits, all of which contributed to the nearby closings/conversions.

Young Lake Highlands entrepreneur spotlighted nationally

Lake Highlands High School graduate Bethany Stutsman’s Instagram personalshopping enterprise landed her a guest spot on a business segment on both ABC Nightline and Good Morning America. She spoke with reporters about the emerging trend that has fashionistas selling gently used designer goods through social media. Bethany, who graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in dance and creative studies, says there is plenty of money to be made in this online version of the upscale garage sale. See full interview with Stutsman on lakehighlands.advocatemag.com.

Medical nonprofit expands staff

City

The city’s carryout bag ordinance takes effect Jan. 1. City Council last spring proposed banning flimsy plastic bags outright, but eventually compromised with a 5-cent fee per plastic or paper bag. Proponents hope the fee will result in fewer bags used and less litter. The city already spends about $4 million a year cleaning up litter, and the retail fees will go into an “environmental fund,” where it could be used for litter abatement, officials say. Governor elect/Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot has said the ordinance is not legal under state law. So a lawsuit over the ordinance is anticipated.

People

Lake Highlands High School graduate Michael Henton, a redshirt freshman on the Midwestern State football team, recently was honored for his performance punting for the Mustangs. Henton was named to the Beyond Sports Network All Super Region Four squad, and he earned second team All Lone Star Conference honors. He also was selected for the College Freshman All American Team.

Schools

Richardson ISD school board president Karen Holburn resigned halfway into her three-year term. Holburn’s resignation was accepted by remaining board members, and Vice President Kim Caston was selected to serve as president. Lake Highlands resident Adam Meierhofer was elected vice-president. A special election to fill the vacant Place 6 will be held in May 2015, with the elected person serving out Holburn’s term until May 2016. Trustees for Places 1 (Meierhofer) and 2 (Caston) also will be elected in May 2015.

Liquid Zoo leaves Lake Highlands

Popular sports bar/Karaoke hangout Liquid Zoo has vacated its home at the northeast corner of Skillman-Royal. Owners say they will relocate to the Oak Lawn neighborhood, 3851 Cedar Springs, to be exact. While the northeast side of Skillman-Abrams — with the closing of Tom Thumb and Siegel’s last year in addition to that of Liquid Zoo — looks dark these days, the southeast side recently announced a new tenant, ReStore; across the street, on the northwest side is Super Target and Payless. Neighborhood gems such as Mariano’s, Thai Opal and the new Taqueria Latina populate the southwest side.

Healing Hands Ministries, which recently upgraded and expanded its neighborhood facilities, has hired a medical director, Lakewood resident Chris Berry. Dr. Berry has several years experience working in Dallas clinics. Healing Hands has served un- and under-insured Lake Highlands and greater Dallas County residents in need of medical and dental care for almost a decade. The clinic is located at 8515 Greenville at Royal, Suite N-108.

LAKEHIGHLANDS.ADVOCATEMAG.COM/BIZ

Forest Meadow Junior High School principal Shannon Bennett recently announced his resignation after a year in the position, and he is eligible for reassignment within the district. Kerri Jones will serve as interim principal for the remainder of the school year. No stranger to the campus, she was Forest Meadow’s assistant principal for eight years before relocating to Liberty Junior High. Pearce High School assistant principal Rodney Beasley also joined Forest Meadow as an assistant principal through the end of the school year. RISD superintendent Kay Waggoner says the district will begin the formal process of selecting Forest Meadow’s permanent principal during the second semester. Parents will have an opportunity to participate in the selection process, she says.

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Takedown

The Lake Highlands High School Wildcat wrestling team recently hosted the annual Tri-State Classic Tournament. They won the championship title, and all 14 starters placed top five in their weight divisions. Honors included: sophomore Daniel Kidd, first place; seniors Seth Villasana, Reid Curnutt, Anthony Maldonado and junior Tw’quan Clayton, second place in their respective divisions; seniors Sam Ketchmark, Juan Castro and Kendrell Willis, third in theirs. Junior varsity members Jack Smitham, Kevin Tran, Brandon Kaylor, Carlos Zumwalt, Preston Gunter, Ryan Flores, Andrew Nixon, Ian Stroud, Bawi Ceu, Max Hayter, Fnu Thomas, Ceu Lian, Brad Dabrowski and Avery Mulally placed top three in their divisions — all under the guidance of coach Pete Grieder.

From Lake Highlands, with love

A group of sixth graders at the Highlander School, a private Lake Highlands elementary school, collected items to fill 37 care packages to mail to soldiers serving overseas. The Lake Highlands Military Moms, an organization to support mothers of Lake Highlands High School grads serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, helped fill out required forms and labels to get the packages to the proper locations. The Lake Highlands Exchange Club, especially volunteers John Waters and John Threadgill, transported the boxes and donated all the postage.