2023 June Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate

Photography by Lauren Allen.

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EDITORIAL

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Photo used with the permission of Joe Buck

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MADE FOR MOVIES

Meet producer/ director and neighborhood advocate Fonya Mondell

Interview by RENEE UMSTED Photography by YUVIE STYLES

Los Angeles, California, 1997. A 24-year-old and recent college graduate, Fonya Mondell, has been in the City of Angels for three days when she’s hired as a production assistant and driver for the director of a film. Her pay is $80 a day for 18-hour days, five days a week.

“I wasn’t scared,” Mondell says. “I thought I was going to go into acting. I had headshots I got in New York, and I was going to be an actress, the next Brooke Shields.”

The daughter of filmmakers Cynthia and Allen Mondell, she was introduced to the industry as a child and always participated in theater. But while in L.A., she quickly learned that acting on set is different from acting on a stage, so she pivoted to behind-the-scenes work.

She spent years working on movie sets, surrounded by stars such as Lauren Hutton, Jonathan Silverman, Alison Eastwood, Brendan Fraser and Ian McKellen. In 2004, Telemundo hired her to produce a Spanish soap opera in Dallas.

Other jobs kept bringing her back, so Mondell eventually decided to leave L.A. for Dallas, where she grew up. She now lives in the Knox/Henderson area, just 10 blocks from her parents, who still live in the house where Mondell was raised.

Dallas SWAT and Prison Break are among the series she has produced and directed. Mondell describes herself as a freelancer, though she has worked for Media 13 Studios, East Side Productions, her parents’ nonprofit Media Projects Inc., and has her own company, Fon Film Productions. She has experience with longer projects and has more recently been doing shorter marketing and fundraising videos, which allow more flexibility to stay in town and spend time with her son. But when her son is grown and leaves the house, Mondell says she would like to get back into films, particularly independent films.

Mondell served for 15 years on the advisory board of the East Dallas Boys & Girls Club and represents District 2 on the Dallas Park and Recreation Board.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN THIS PART OF EAST DALLAS?

It was an amazing experience. The neighborhood in the ’70s and ’80s, all the way through ’90s when I left for college on the East Coast, was blue collar. It was white. It was Hispanic. It was immigrant. It was gay. It was artsy. It was very eclectic.

WHAT DID YOU DO FOR FUN?

I went to private school then came home, running around barefoot with my Hispanic friends and going to the kitchen with the grandparents and learning how to cook and do different things. But the neighborhood was full of culture and kids playing in the streets and going out to the neighborhood parks and walking around and exploring. To tell you the truth, my parents have a documentary called the Henderson Avenue Bug Patrol . I think I was 9 at the time. And it was done with the Museum of Natural History, where we had somebody come, and we would explore our neighborhood. We were looking for bugs, and we were looking for new neighbors, and you didn’t

feel uncomfortable walking in the streets of the neighborhood. My parents did not allow me to watch TV as a kid. As a matter of fact, I would get punished if the TV was on without permission. So it was always playing outside.

ARE THERE ANY FILMS THAT HAVE SHAPED YOUR WORK?

La Vida Loca was one of my favorite films back in the day. It was highlighting young, Hispanic women that I felt like, “Oh my gosh, these are the girls that I come home from school and hang out with.” And it was highlighting and showing their life and giving them a voice.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE HAVING PARENTS IN

THE FILM INDUSTRY?

My parents are my heroes. They’re amazing. My dad was at KERA for about four or five years and then left to start a nonprofit with my mother where they were their own bosses. They raised the money. They developed the project. They produced and directed the projects. They distributed their projects. I’m an only child, and they were always around. Growing up, my parents did documentaries, and they also did feature-length documentaries where there were reenactments. They would have casting calls, and I was on their sets of film shoots, whether it was real or reenactments. The work that they did was always giving back and teaching others about a different community. I can remember, I was probably 12, and my parents spent the summer in the hottest heat of Dallas, in the West Dallas housing project, filming a documentary about four girls growing up in the West Dallas housing project, four African-American girls. It was called Beauty in the Bricks . I was like, oh my God, my parents are so innovative. They’re so cool. They were different than everybody else. They were teaching people about other cultures. It was an amazing experience. My parents are my best friends. My mom, being a woman in film and in a man’s world of production, she was successful. She paved the way for a lot of women.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO ACCEPT THE APPOINTMENT TO THE PARK BOARD?

I’m not interested in being in city politics. I have no desire. I’m just a community liaison. And I tell people, it’s not what I want, it’s what you want in the parks. I’m a community liaison. Let me help you navigate. Let me help you get what you want. It’s not about me. And I know that my voice can help. The park board is a bond-allocating, policy-making administrative board, so the responsibilities to the taxpayers and to the citizens and to the constituents and communities of Dallas is huge. I kind of accepted not knowing exactly what I was going into. I really read all my contracts. I really look at everything because I’m not there to be a rubber-stamper. I’m there to really help make the best choices.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

TO a IRB n B, OR NOT TO AIRB nB

That is the question for the Dallas City Council

Story by RENEE UMSTED | Photography by EMIL LIPPE

JEFF VEAZEY and Dolores Serroka have lived in their respective neighborhoods for decades, each wanting their communities to remain quiet and peaceful. They are civically engaged and have spent years advocating for good housing practices.

But they represent opposing sides of a debate that has plagued the Dallas government for years and divided the city’s residents.

It’s the debate over short-term rentals.

Veazey, a former housing attorney, and his wife own a STR , a garage apartment in the back of their property in Old Lake Highlands; they say it helps them pay their property taxes. Serroka, who worked in the hotel industry for 35 years, lives in Peak’s Suburban Addition next door to a STR in fear that her property will be damaged or stolen by guests.

Task forces have been created and countless committee meetings scheduled to discuss how STRs — which are rented for no more than 30 days at a time — should be regulated and where they should be allowed. District 14 City Council member PAUL RIDLEY made preserving single-family neighborhoods a campaign promise, and keeping STRs out of residential areas has become one of his priorities. Groups have formed against and in support of STRs, which include listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Members of the public, many of them wearing “HOMES NOT HOTELS” T-shirts, spent hours during an April city council meeting speaking about STRs. Yard signs bearing the same message are common throughout the city.

Yet the city council has not voted on zoning and registration ordinances, despite years of calls from residents to settle the issue. In the meantime, the thousands of STRs in Dallas continue to operate.

“They’re not doing anything to give us relief,” Serroka says.

FOR STRS

Jeff Veazey and his wife didn’t originally set out to establish a short-term rental. Six years ago, they converted their garage into livable space to create room for their adult sons and partners when they came to visit.

They decided to use the garage apartment as a short-term rental to recover the cost of building it. Meanwhile, Veazey and his wife, a retired teacher at Hexter Elementary, continued to stay in the 1,500-square-foot main house, where they have lived for about 25 years.

Drawing from prior stays at Airbnbs across the country, the Veazeys did their best to become great owner/operators of their STR. Veazey says some neighbors didn’t even know that their STR existed because no complaints were made about it.

“My wife has worked so hard, and I have worked hard to try to keep what we got going here,” Veazey says. “But if we lost the short-term rental thing, I don’t know. I guess we’d have to get full-time jobs again or something.”

Lisa Sievers has a similar story. She and her husband were converting their pool cabana into living space for her parents, and the construction wasn’t cheap. Two days after listing the property on Airbnb, they had their first booking. A couple of years later, they purchased a property next door and made the garage apartment a STR.

Her husband, a retired teacher, manages the listings, which help generate money they use to pay property taxes.

Veazey and Sievers are also similar in that they have participated in the city’s efforts to regulate housing.

About a year ago, Veazey started polling his neighbors about STRs and has been speaking at city meetings. In the late 1990s, he served on a multifamily inspection task force that developed a program that led to an ordinance still in

effect. Sievers, who’s on the board of the Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance, has been on STR task forces for the past three years. She and Veazey agree that regulation is welcome, but a ban on STRs by zoning isn’t.

“It’s been bumpy,” Sievers says. “I think there’s a very vocal, small amount of people who are firmly against short-term rentals.”

“I have worked hard to try to keep what we got going here.”

JEFF VEAZEY

AGAINST STRS

Some residents who have spoken up at city meetings have shared horror stories about STRs in their neighborhood.

Timothy Sigler has lived in Lakewood for more than a decade. There’s a short-term rental in a duplex across the street. He saw people start coming in around March 2020.

“It was Friday, Saturday, and there would just be a ton of people, when all the bars were closed, when everything else was closed,” he says. “They were using STRs to run party houses so they could hang out with their friends.”

Once, Sigler asked some people who looked to be in their early 20s to stop using the swing set in Sigler’s front yard. His son was standing there, but the people trespassing told him to “F you,” that they could do what they wanted. He’s also seen people making videos in his front yard, his house in the background.

The problem now, Sigler says, is that there are people coming in and out every weekend.

“None of us let our kids play in the front yard anymore,” he says. “I have three swings out there that no one gets to use when I know someone’s come in, and they’re using the unit.”

For Serroka, who moved to the area now known as Peak’s Suburban Addition from Washington, D.C., in 1976, the effects of STRs are different.

She knows of three STRs on her block, including one next door. She once owned that property but decided to sell it instead of taking on a major repair project. Serroka turned down offers from developers, but the buyer ended up converting the property into a STR, after telling Serroke that he wouldn’t.

Since then, she says items have been taken from her yard, and the gas meter and sprinklers have been hit. And she’s heard loud music.

“I’m fighting really hard to keep neighbors in my neighborhood, not transients, people that just come and go,” Serroka says. “They’re guests for a

couple of nights. They leave. They don’t care about the neighborhood.”

Jean McAulay, the president of the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association, echoes Serroka’s sentiment and says, based on an informal survey of neighbors, most people don’t want to live next door to a STR.

“We want to be part of an ongoing group of people who live where they’re committed to raising their children and being part of a local community and volunteering and all that kind of thing that doesn’t happen if your next-door neighbor is someone different every day or every week who’s renting while they’re passing through town,” she says.

WHAT’S NEXT

After years of playing hot potato with STRs, a two-part solution has been presented to the city council.

The first part involves regulations. For example, STRs would have to pay hotel occupancy taxes and register with the city. They would have to provide off-street parking and emergency contact information. City Departments such as Code Compliance would help enforce processes to renew and revoke STR licenses.

The second part of the solution involves zoning. The ordinance would classify STRs as a lodging use and prohibit them from operating in residential

“They don’t care about the neighborhood.”

Dolores Serroka

neighborhoods. About 95% of STR properties that are paying the hotel occupancy tax are within residential areas and would be unable to operate if the ordinance is approved. That means the party houses would be gone, and so would the STRs run by the Veazeys and Sievers of Dallas.

These two pieces were supported by the plan commission with a 9-4 vote in December. The city council has been briefed and received public comments on the issue, but a date hasn’t been set for a vote.

At the April 4 briefing, council members were split on STRs. District 14 City Council member Paul Ridley said he supports the regulations and zoning ordinance. But others, such as District 9 City Council member Paula Blackmon, still have questions. They are searching for a compromise that would preserve quality of life in neighborhoods, root out “bad actors” and allow individuals like Veazey and Sievers who rely on STRs for revenue to continue doing so. The council members asked whether certain multifamily properties could be exempt from the ban.

Regardless of the council’s decision, there are other issues. Dallas police have been primarily responsible for responding to noise complaints, violence and other issues stemming from STRs and all other properties after hours. But the department is already understaffed, and even with additional Code Compliance officers, police officers would still be called to certain situations, meaning the regulations would be difficult to enforce.

There’s also a chance that if the city decides to approve the zoning and regulation, the ordinance could be challenged with legislation from Austin. House Bill 2665 would create a task force to investigate municipal ordinances regarding STR regulation and report back to the state, including by recommending legislative policies about statewide regulation of STRs.

But until there’s a vote, we stick to the status quo. The debate over shortterm rentals continues.

Market Is Changing.

Left: The X.O-Tini, made with watermelon, cranberry and vodka, is served with a bubble on top. Right: Challah bread is used to make the flaming apple whiskey toast, lit on fire once placed on the table.

BRUNCH FOR ALL

This Mockingbird Station eatery takes inspiration from around the world

Story by RENEE UMSTED | Photography by KATHY TRAN

JUST OVER THREE years ago, Nick Elizi and his sister, Ruki Salihi, were doing everything they could to keep their business afloat. They had invested their life savings into their restaurant, 360 Brunch House, which they had opened in Mansfield in early March 2020. When the pandemic started a few weeks later, the restaurant closed for two months.

“That was a scary moment for the company,” Elizi says. “I ended up doing longer hours. I made a drive-thru, sold toilet paper, a little bit of everything. Whatever we could sell, we sold.”

This was exactly the kind of stress and challenges the siblings were trying to avoid. They knew what the restaurant industry could throw at them because their parents owned a diner. Though they wanted to find a career not involving restaurants that would be just as enjoyable but not so taxing, they couldn’t overcome the industry’s pull.

In 2018, they opened their first concept, Mango’s Breakfast and Brunch, in Southlake. Then in 2020, 360 Brunch House arrived in Mansfield. The business recovered from the tumultuous pan -

demic period, and in November 2022, a second 360 Brunch House opened at Mockingbird Station.

“We love it,” Elizi says of the restaurant industry. “It’s where our heart’s at.”

Elizi, who started cooking when he was about 10 years old, is responsible for the food menu. A travel enthusiast, he used his experiences from around the world as inspiration for the dishes. The connections are obvious.

Take, for example, the spinach bruschetta omelet. Made with baby spinach, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh basil, and topped with a balsamic glaze, it has Italy written all over it. And it’s one of a handful of the French-rolled omelets on the menu.

The Mexican breakfast bowl, made with two eggs, chorizo, jalapeños, bell peppers, avocado and ghost pepper cheese, is a nod to our neighbors to the south. As with the omelets, there’s a variety of breakfast bowl offerings; Korean, Baja chicken and farmers are just a few.

Diversity in the menu explains the “360” in the restaurant name.

“It represents everything that we offer,” Elizi says.

One popular order is the lamb chops and waffle, which comes with seasoned lamb chops and mini cheddar herb waffles, drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Chicken and waffles, made with bonein, seasoned fried chicken and cheddar herb waffles, are another top seller. And Elizi says everybody loves the flaming apple whiskey toast, where the meal comes with a show. Challah French toast topped with thinly sliced apples and whiskey apple sauce is lit on fire when the server brings it to the table.

“Food connects the world. You don’t eat just to eat,” Elizi says. “We created just that, and people love it.”

To develop the cocktail menu, Elizi brought in one of his friends, Xavier Garcia, who competes in cocktail competitions around the world, he says.

There are more than a half-dozen margaritas, but a notable mention is the smokey casa margarita. Made with mezcal, tequila and Cointreau and garnished with Tajín, it’s served in a smoke-filled container.

Clockwise from top: The X.O-Tini; the spinach bruschetta omelet with an arugula salad; lamb chops and waffle; mimosa flight; and the acai bowl.

More traditional brunch cocktails are available, too. Try a single mimosa or a flight, with pineapple, pomegranate, cranberry and fresh-squeezed orange juices.

The restaurant uses a blend of five beans from different regions in coffee drinks, and proceeds from coffee sales benefit nonprofits building schools around the world.

Elizi also played a large role in the design of the restaurant, which spans the width of the building, with doors facing Central Expressway and the DART station.

Neon signs are a trademark feature of both 360 Brunch House locations; the signature sign at the neighborhood store hung on the wall in the middle of the restaurant reads “Meet me halfway it’s our secret.”

But Elizi made the Mockingbird Station location distinct.

“I wanted to give more darkness to it, more intimacy, more trying to create that intimate vibe and atmosphere,” Elizi says. “You can come here on a nice, fancy date.”

He used a wall texture from Paris, covered the walls in a bluish, slate gray color, which contrasts with the medium-stained wood floors.

Guests dine at tables designed to resemble black-and-white marble and sit at rosy-colored fabric chairs with gold-toned legs. The chairs are a favorite feature of Salihi, who handles the customer-service side of the business.

Natural light permeates the space through windows on opposite sides of the restaurant, and additional illumination is provided by chandeliers with glass orbs.

It all works together to further Elizi and Salihi’s mission for the concept.

“We wanted to take breakfast to a different level,” Elizi says. “We wanted to give it kind of a dinner vibe, but for breakfast — kind of mess with people’s minds, so to speak.”

Brunch House, 5331 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214.964.0871, 360brunchhouse.com

HE SELLS SEASHELLS

Mel

Bernstein deals in natural wonders and smiles

Story by SIMON PRUITT | Photography by LAUREN ALLEN

To his three sons, Mel Bernstein is a great father and family man. To his late wife Barbara, he was a loving husband. Decades ago, he made a living as a stage actor in New York City.

But on weekends in Lowest Greenville, Bernstein assumes a new moniker: Mel The Shell Man.

He parks on a street corner, tosses a sheet over the hood of his white Toyota 4Runner and sets up a beautiful display of seashells that he sells to passersby.

His fascination with shells began in the late ’60s.

He and Barbara were on their honeymoon in Aruba when they met an old man pulling in his fishing boat on the beach. After striking up a conversation, the couple went sailing with the man on his “little skiff” and then visited his home.

Bernstein likened the interaction to Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea , romanticizing a moment that would change his life forever.

“We went to his backyard, and it was full of shells and huge, green sea turtle shells,” he says. “I offered what I thought I could afford for all the shells and bought the whole inventory.”

Through a complicated process to export the shells, Bernstein eventually got the haul back to his home in New York City.

“I proceeded to put an ad in The New York Times for the green sea turtle shells,” he says. “My phone was ringing off the hook. I sold every shell in two months.”

Seeing the opportunity, Bernstein began ordering large shipments of seashells and leased out a spot at a farmers market in Amagansett, New York.

“I became a fine craftsman with the shells,” he says. “I was making mirrors, jewelry, all out of the raw shells.”

They named their business Seashell Wonders, and it continued to thrive at markets across the country, moving permanently to Dallas in 1991. Bernstein decided to put an end to the venture shortly after Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

“We stopped the day that we set up the booth and Barbara didn’t know what we were selling,” he says.

When Barbara died two years ago, Mel had no intention of ever reviving his passion for seashells.

But in August 2022, he was diagnosed with Stage IV prostate cancer that has since spread to his spine.

Mel Bernstein, aka Mel The Shell Man, sells seashells in Lowest Greenville, interacting with customers and passersby.

“I had two choices: to give up and let the cancer take over, or try to find true meaning in my life,” he says.

Bernstein impulsively decided to gather the shells he still had and drive down to Lowest Greenville on a Saturday morning. He parked in front of Alamo Club and spent the day getting back to what he loves.

After returning to the pastime he shared with his wife, being back on his feet and interacting with people who come by his makeshift shop, Bernstein says he has found his true purpose.

“It’s to love those around me. It’s to be honest to those I meet and to give my knowledge in the simplest way,” he says. “I’m 78 years old. I know stuff.”

Shells are the face of his operation, but the consistent human connection is the impetus.

“I don’t just sell shells and take their money,” he says. “I get to talk

to people. I get to bring a smile to their face.”

In addition to the pristine and colorful shells on display over his car hood, the Shell Man also puts out a basket filled with small seashells for children to dig through and take home.

“I give every kid that stops by 10 shells,” he says. “Now they always have that memory of getting to pick out 10 shells with their mom or dad. That’s what it’s all about.”

To Mel The Shell Man, it was never really about the shells. Their natural beauty and striking presentation serve as a hook for him to reach out and connect with anyone who stops by.

“I truly believe that everyone’s life has a beautiful, epic story,” he says. “Mine is just unfolding in this way.”

Lately, it unfolds on weekend mornings, making friends out of strangers and memories out of nothing.

“I don’t have any money. I sell sea shells. I get paid little by little,” he says. “But I’m rich — these are my riches.”

There’s a lot to love in East Dallas.

Finding your perfect location is just the first step to your new build. Maximizing your investment means finding the right partner to design and build your dream home. So give us a call, because there is a lot to love about Bella Vista.

Mel Bernstein bought his first collection of shells while he was honeymooning with his

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HOME SHOWCASE

SU MMESTAYC ATI A

How to spend a weekend in East Dallas

Story by RENEE UMSTED | Illustrations by JYNNETTE NEAL

There’s a temptation to get away during the summer and escape the hot temperatures. But if travel isn’t an option — or even if it is — hanging around town can be diverting. Here’s how to spend a weekend staycationing in our neighborhood.

8 A.M.

Satisfy cravings for a morning cup of joe or an afternoon pick-me-up at one of our neighborhood’s independent coffee shops. Experience an Australian coffee shop at LDU Coffee (original at 2650 N. Fitzhugh Ave.).

Window Seat Coffee is inspired by the cabin of an airplane (3018 Greenville Ave.). Extend a greeting to one of our neighborhood’s newest shops, JuJu’s Coffee (6038 La Vista Drive), or one of its most established enterprises, White Rock Coffee (original at 10105 E. Northwest Highway).

MER TION

9 A.M.

Start the day off right with a stroll, bike ride or jog around White Rock Lake. Furry friends are welcome but must be on a leash, unless they’re in the dog park. The view you’ll get while traversing the approximately 9 miles of trails varies. On the water, you might find neighbors rowing, sailing or kayaking. Along the path or near the shore, ducks may be gathering or native plants sprouting. If you have time, head inside the Bath House Cultural Center (521 E. Lawther Drive). Built in 1930, the Art Deco-style building once housed lockers and changing rooms for people who wanted to take a dip in the lake. Now, it’s a hub for performing and visual arts, and it houses the White Rock Lake Museum. Wander inside to read the story of the park; admission is free.

11 A.M.

Support small businesses at local markets and shops. Find fresh food, locally produced goodies and handmade crafts at Good Local Markets, which sets up near Little Forest Hills on Saturdays and Lakewood on Sundays (1450 Old Gate Lane, 6434 E. Mockingbird Lane). The Underground Market, founded by a husband-wife duo who have spent their lives in our neighborhood, hosts dozens of vendors selling vintage and one-of-a-kind pieces on Lower Greenville (5600 Alta Ave. on Saturdays, 5700 Oram St. on Sundays). Makers

Connect gives North Texas artists a place to sell their crafts — jewelry, clothing, decor, glasswork, paintings and more (9047 Garland Road).

12:30 P.M.

Lunch al fresco at one of our neighborhood’s favorite hangouts. Bring the pets to Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House, and munch on some cheese fries (1154 Peavy Road). Or head to Smoky Rose for some barbecue (8602 Garland Road). Enjoy margaritas and ceviche at Taquero , which brings a piece of Mexico to Lower Greenville (5434 Ross Ave.). The restaurant also has a glassed-in room, combining the feel of outdoor dining with the benefit of air conditioning.

2 P.M.

Cool off, and let the kids work out some energy at The Cove at Samuell Grand (3201 Samuell Blvd.). Complete with a toddler pool, slides, diving board and lap pool, there’s something for everyone in the family. The park’s playground and ample open space for running around or throwing a football don’t hurt, either.

Photography by Skyler Fike.

5

P.M.

Step into a haven for nature at Warren Ferris Cemetery (corner of San Leandro Drive and St. Francis Avenue). It’s a bit of a misnomer, because there’s only one headstone, and it doesn’t mark the specific burial site of the deceased. But a group of committed volunteers have toiled to transform the lot into a sanctuary for native plants and wildlife. Take a minute to bask in the peace and listen to the sounds.

6 P.M.

Dine like a local at some of the neighborhood’s favorite restaurants. Terilli’s, a Lower Greenville establishment for decades, is great for a celebratory dinner (2815 Greenville Ave.). The Italian eatery is famous for its extensive martini list. For something more casual, try Thunderbird Pies. Even the smaller option of their creative, Detroit-style pizzas is enough to feed several people, but save room for dessert: Thunderbird has an ice cream bar, a remnant of the bygone Cow Tipping Creamery (7328 Gaston Ave.).

7:30 P.M.

After dinner, head to the Balcony Club (1825 Abrams Road). Located next to Bowlski’s at Lakewood Shopping Center, the lounge offers libations and sonic surroundings. On any given night, visitors may find jazz, R&B, blues or rock, some of it orchestrated by bands that have made Balcony Club their stomping grounds. Though the bar has changed hands over the past 30 years, it remains a local hotspot.

8:45 P.M.

If there’s a craving for drama, attend a Shakespeare Dallas performance. Much Ado

About Nothing

and Two Gentlemen of Verona are the June productions for Dallas’ Shakespeare in the Park, held at Samuell Grand Amphitheater (6200 E. Grand Ave.). Bring your own drinks and snacks, along with a picnic blanket or lawn chairs, and enjoy the show under the stars.

Cutline + Photography by sentence. No photo credit if byline.

FROM HOME TO THE STAGE

Meet this musically inclined father-son duo

Story by SIMON PRUITT

Photography by LAUREN ALLEN

QUALITY TIME FOR JONATHAN LACEY

and son Ethan is spent on stage, rocking out in front of audiences across Dallas.

Jonathan, who goes by “Johnny Tone” on stage, serves as the frontman and guitarist for Club Wood, a funky New Orleans jazz outfit that has played around Dallas since 2009.

“Music was a salvation for me,” Johnny says. “It gave me a purpose when other people around me didn’t have it”

Johnny moved to Dallas as a kid in 1973, and he cites the loud rock ’n’ roll scene of the time as his introduction to the industry. They live in East Dallas.

“The Rolling Stones came to Texas to play the Cotton Bowl in 1975,” he says. “I saw Keith Richards walk out on stage and knew that was what I wanted to do.”

Johnny worked as a studio musician in New York City during his 20s, before finding his way back to Dallas, meeting his future wife, Chris, in 2001 and having Ethan later the same year.

“I’m a very rudimentary player, very uneducated and primitive in my execution,” Johnny says. “I wanted Ethan to get exposed early and get active.”

Ethan took his surroundings quickly, diving deep into classical saxophone in fifth grade.

“I was always around it,” Ethan says. “Once I got a little older, it felt like that seed was planted, and it started to grow.”

Ethan took his saxophone talents to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts , and he began to produce and release his own music online.

During the COVID lockdown, he began listening to classic jazz as well as modern electronic music, eventually blending the two in original music he has released online during the past few years.

“I felt a longing for some sort of outlet to create,” Ethan says. “My dad and I are both weird people, and we both have things we’re dealing with. Music and art are our way of dealing with just that.”

As father and son, and as occasional on-stage partners, Johnny and Ethan have spent years learning from each other and feeding off each other’s artistic energies.

“I don’t play much around the house anymore because I don’t want to embarrass my son,” Johnny says. “I want my son to think I’m cool, I don’t want him to hear me struggle through some of the most inane stuff.

“But he’s gotten good at pushing me, and I’ve gotten good at being more accepting of it.”

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OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

By PATTI VINSON

The case of the forgotten sign

East Dallas, you showed up for one of your own

Gary Isett, our neighborhood’s King of Yard Art, recently posted on social media that Code Compliance came knocking at his door. Friendly Code Guy left without issuing a citation and told Isett his own son is a big fan of Big Boy, Magilla Gorilla and the various 10-foottall dinosaurs dotting the yard.

In a modern-day version of villagers brandishing torches and pitchforks, an astonishing 387 comments flooded Isett’s post and the repost on another site. Likes on these posts totaled 1,434.

“Gary must be protected at all costs,” one person commented, assuming, along with everyone else, that Isett’s funny and entertaining choices of lawn embellishment were under fire.

Every last comment expressed support for the large corner lot on Abrams, between Mockingbird and Lovers Lane, and many had choice words for the person who called in the complaint. “Bless their heart” was one of the kinder remarks, albeit some significant Southern shade.

Calm down, everyone. Big Boy, Tony the T-Rex and the others are not under attack.

It turns out the complaint had nothing to do with the art after all. It was a quibble regarding a sign in Isett’s yard.

“I was dumbfounded,” Isett says. “It wasn’t there on purpose.”

Isett rents his yard art for children’s birthday parties, class reunions and other events, a practice which began a couple of years ago after a stranger asked him about borrowing Deano the Velociraptor for his kid’s party. At every event using his art, he places a sign nearby about rentals. He says he never places the sign in his yard.

Except for the one time he forgot about the sign and left it leaning against the giant live oak tree shading his art. You guessed it: Code shows up after receiving

a complaint alleging Isett was running a business from his residence.

For those new to the area, it all began 11 years ago when Isett moved onto the large property. He saw it as the perfect stage for elaborate holiday lights. But yard art fever overtook him when he stumbled upon Big Boy, the original piece from the long-gone Kip’s Big Boy restaurant at Hillcrest and Northwest Highway.

The neighborhood went nuts for it, and Gary has added to his collection ever since. Along with the burger boy, T-Rex and the Velociraptor, his yard currently displays other large dinos: Tracy the Triceratops and Sinclair the Brontosaurus. Magilla Gorilla rounds out the rowdy bunch.

Smaller pieces, such as a Stonehenge and a cannibalistic French Fry man, cluster near the front door of Isett’s house. The popular Peggy the Unicorn Pegasus is taking some time off for repairs and painting at the studio of artist Preston Pannek, who also added color to several of Isett’s pieces and painted the Matthew McConaughey mural leaning against his house.

Some neighbors use the lawn display as a mood-lifter.

“It has always made me smile. I often drive over here just to lift my spirits,” one admitted. Another had this story: “Gary’s yard has been the highlight of my many trips through that area, especially when I used to be a delivery bicyclist in downtown. Some days were absolutely terrible, but that yard always made me smile. I would be thinking, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to pay my light bill … OH,THERE’S A NEW DINOSAUR!’ Seriously, it’s the small things (or oversized statues and lights) that make the difference.”

“Everyone loves your yard,” said one commenter. “You’re part of what makes the ’hood special and unique. You bring more joy than you could possibly know.”

And that’s all Isett really wants to do:Make a difference, or perhaps add a little levity to the drive down Abrams.

“I appreciate the support from everyone,” he says. “It motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing. If I can put a smile on your face, then why not?”

PATTI VINSON is a guest writer who has lived in East Dallas for more than 20 years. She’s written for the Advocate and Real Simple magazine.

Gary Isett with one of his many pieces of yard art. Photography by Danny Fulgencio.