2023 August Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate

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aug 23

LAKEWOOD/EAST DALLAS ADVOCATE VOL. 30 NO. 8

PROFILE

12 Lena SanchezPalomo of Cita’s Salsa DINING

22 Eating at the Continental Gin Building

FEATURES

16 The evolution of Greenville Avenue

30 The hosts with the most

36 The tipping point COLUMN

40 Garden-to-table

Fiction Coffee offers a range of traditional coffee and espresso drinks, along with teas and flavored beverages. Read more on page 22. Photography by Kathy Tran.

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ROOTED IN RESTAURANTS

Story by LAUREN TURNER

LA LA LAND KIND CAFE:

When La La Land Kind Cafe opened in 2019, no one could have predicted how big the business would become.

Founded by Francois Reihani, the cafe chain employs foster youth who are aging out of the system. Through the La La Program, the cafe connects foster youth to mentors, trains them in service positions and connects them to resources.

By focusing on creating a kind environment for all, the cafe has harnessed the power of the internet and become a viral sensation. Through its Instagrammable locations, drinks and Drive-by Kindness videos, the brand’s platforms have grown exponentially. Today La La Land has over 6.5 million followers on TikTok and another

240,000 on Instagram.

As its popularity has grown, the cafe has expanded from its original Lowest Greenville location to 10 additional storefronts throughout Texas and California. Each new shop opening creates more opportunities for Reihani and his company to employ and assist foster youth. The company recently secured a $20 million investment and plans to continue expanding throughout the country.

JOHN’S CAFE:

Open only for breakfast and lunch, John’s Cafe has been in business for more than 50 years.

John Spyropoulos moved to the United States in 1970, when he was 21, and opened his restaurant two

years later. The location of his cafe has changed a few times over the years, but his diner-style food has remained a neighborhood favorite.

“I grew up down here, going to the grocers, like John’s Cafe. That was my dad’s old buddy. … these old business owners from when I was a little girl,” East Dallas resident Zahra Darwish says.

When Spyropoulos moved into his current location on Greenville Avenue, customers told him not to renovate the space and to “leave it like the old place.”

And leave it he did. The retro diner holds memories of decades past with photos and news clippings on the walls, making it the perfect place for a casual breakfast on Saturday morning. He’ll even make Mick -

ey-shaped pancakes for the kids.

So what has kept John’s on the radar for 50 years?

“Good food and good service. It’s smart. And it shows in the customers every day,” Spyropoulos says.

DIXIE HOUSE:

Although no longer in business, Dixie House was an icon of Lakewood while its doors were open at 6400 Gaston Ave.

Owner Gene Street and his partner, Phil Cobb, opened the spot when Street’s other restaurant chain, the Black-eyed Pea, was discouraged from opening in Lakewood.

“Nearly every one of them said, ‘I don’t think you should bring a chain restaurant into Lakewood. It’s never worked here,’” Street says.

So he didn’t. Instead he opened Dixie House, and the place was a smashing hit.

With its church-pew booth seating and beloved dinner rolls, Street says the restaurant “dwarfed the Blackeyed Peas.”

For a neighborhood that barred the doors to Street at first, it certainly has not let him go. Street has owned and been a partner with other

businesses in the area, including Liberty Burger and Lakewood Yacht Club.

“Nothing but fond memories. It was just a great community,” Street says. “Lakewood was very, very good to me.”

The restaurant was open for over 35 years before it closed in January 2016. Its parent company, Restaurants Acquisition I, Llc., declared bankruptcy in December 2015. Dixie House had also been having issues with Lincoln Property Company, the landlord of Lakewood Shopping Center at the time.

SNUFFER’S RESTAURANT AND BAR:

Snuffer’s opened its first location on Lower Greenville in 1978. Through its history of ghost sightings and famous cheddar fries, the casual dining spot has become a neighborhood staple.

“So, being a Texas native, and a Dallas native specifically, I love all my Dallas restaurants. But one of my go-tos is Mi Cocina … and then also Snuffer’s for their cheese fries and ranch,” local resident Christa Sanford says.

With nine locations throughout North Texas, Snuffer’s fans can get a taste of East Dallas success no matter where they are in the Metroplex.

MATT’S RANCHO MARTINEZ: Matt’s was a neighborhood favorite until it closed earlier this year.

The Tex-Mex joint opened its doors to Lakewood in 1989 and moved locations a few times before settling at Skillman and La Vista.

With a family history rich in food experience, Matt’s served some of the most iconic Tex-Mex dishes in the neighborhood. Dishes such as fajitas, Matt’s Famous Chile Relleno and Tampiqueno Style Chicken Fried Steak satisfied the stomachs of residents and visitors alike.

After 35 years of service, our local Matt’s closed its doors as the business moved its focus to Allen, where the restaurant owns a space twice as large as the former location.

The exit of Matt’s certainly left our hearts heavy, but we can rest easy knowing that Matt Martinez Sr., Matt Martinez Jr. and Estella Martinez have all been inducted into the Texas Restaurant Association’s Hall of Honor.

La La Land by Kathy Tran. John’s Cafe by Emil Lippe. Dixie House from Advocate archives.

Before they started a business, Carol “Cita” Castillo and Lena Sanchez-Palomo took their salsa to food festivals and competitions.

BRING ON THE HEAT

Family-run Cita’s Salsa went from farmers markets to Central Markets

Interview by RENEE UMSTED | Photography by VICTORIA GOMEZ

Lena Sanchez-Palomo knew her coworkers needed help as soon as she saw the jar of Pace salsa come out at a company lunch.

“I was like, ‘Oh, you guys eat that? Um, my mom makes really good salsa. I’ll bring some in,’” she says.

Sanchez-Palomo, who was working for a wealth management firm at the time, brought in two varieties: her mom’s Rustic Ranchero salsa, which is similar to the chunky Pace version, and her family’s favorite, a creamy green concoction.

The CEO of the firm decided to put Sanchez-Palomo’s mom, Carol “Cita” Castillo, on the payroll, so there would always be a batch of fresh salsa for the office.

Coworkers started requesting salsa as gifts for friends and family, but SanchezPalomo just thought they were being kind.

Still, she and her mom began entering contests, starting with the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival in 2009. At a North Haven Gardens contest, Cita won a sun hat she still loves. They participated in Fort Worth’s ZestFest from 2012-2020, winning a few first-place Golden Chile awards along the way.

But salsa-making was really just a hobby until Cita lost her job as an overnight manager for a gas station in 2010. By the next year, the family started taking steps to turn the hobby into a business by renting commercial kitchen space in Garland and getting licenses to manufacture food.

Farmers markets in Richardson and McKinney, and the White Rock Local Market at The Green Spot, were the first places Cita’s Salsa was sold.

“It just slowly gained a following out there, and so that was fun to see it grow, with every little step,” Sanchez-Palomo says.

In 2013, a farmers market customer brought home Cita’s Salsa to the customer’s partner, who worked for Central Market. Within the year, Cita’s Salsa was on the grocer’s shelves.

Preparing so much product was a big step, but the Cita’s Salsa team made it happen, even while Sanchez-Palomo was still working full time at the wealth management firm. On Monday and Tuesday nights after work, she and some helpers would make all of the salsa — about 50 cases, or 600-700 bottles.

The salsa-making process became a little better in 2017, when Cita’s began using high-pressure processing. The system helps keep flavors fresher than pasteurization, Sanchez-Palomo says, while extending the salsa’s shelf life and ensuring a safe food product.

In 2018, they started construction on their kitchen and retail store in Casa View, a space close to Sanchez-Palomo’s house in Buckner Terrace and Cita’s in Mount Auburn.

The idea for the place, which opened in June 2019, was to have somewhere to make and sell salsa and grab-and-go meals. They prepare a few of the family’s favorite dishes, such as Cita’s tetrazzini and beef enchilada casserole, and Sanchez-Palomo’s

turkey meatloaf, ready for neighbors to heat up — a homemade alternative to fast food.

“Convenience is what we wanted,” says Sanchez-Palomo, who left the wealth management firm in 2019.

Now, with goods to sell at Central Market stores throughout Texas, three local farmers markets and the Casa View store, Sanchez-Palomo, Cita and their team produce twice as much salsa as they did a decade ago.

HOW LONG HAS YOUR MOM BEEN MAKING SALSA?

As long as I can remember. My grandparents — I remember spending the summers at the farm, and my grandfather always had a little pepper farm out there. Salsa’s just always something you have with every meal. So my grandmother would just toss some ingredients together and make a warm salsa. So my mom, naturally, had the same thing. I think she developed more flavors along the way just because she’s such a foodie.

WHO’S INVOLVED WITH THE BUSINESS NOW?

We have a couple of part-time employees on a regular basis. We have seasonal employees. It’s definitely family-run. So my husband is a lot of the distribution. He’ll go deliver the salsa, pick up the salsa for us. My oldest son does farmers markets now. Came home for the summer from college at Texas State, so he’s here making that summer money, which is nice because I have help. Rocco, my 14-year-old, he helps all the time, too. So I try and give him a little normal life, but he takes pride in his Saturday work here.

IS YOUR MOM STILL HELPING?

Oh, yeah. Cita’s in the kitchen. We definitely couldn’t do it without her. Earlier in the week, she gets here at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning and starts cooking. It’s kind of her time. I think a lot of creative or talented people, especially cooks, they need their time to do some stuff on their own.

WHAT ARE THE TOP-SELLERS?

Red Rage. The Garden Green, the mild tomatillo, definitely. The super-spicy fans love the roasted habanero salsa. And we have hotter versions now of our two most popular. So now we have a hot Garden Green made with serrano instead of jalapeño. We have a hotter version of the Red Rage. And that one just came about because a lot of people at the farmers markets, especially dads, were like, “Man that Red Rage is good, but everybody eats it all up, so I just need something a little spicier, and it’d be my own.” So we made the Fiery Fiesta, and that caught on, too.

Cita’s Kitchen, 2234 Gus Thomasson Road, citassalsa.com

MAKING OF AN AVENUE

The changing dining scene of Lower and Lowest Greenville

Story by RENEE UMSTED

Illustrations by LAUREN ALLEN

Adecade ago, visitors to Lowest Greenville weren’t enjoying 12-course chef’s tasting menus and $17 cocktails in dimly lit, intimate, award-winning restaurants and bars.

They are now.

A decade ago, visitors to Lower Greenville could find institutions such as The Grape, Blue Goose Cantina, St. Martin’s Wine Bistro and San Francisco Rose.

They can’t now.

Over time, Greenville Avenue has developed into unique segments, each with its own personality. While Lowest Greenville landlords say their goals for the area have been met, it’s harder to make a similar assessment for commercial properties between Belmont and Mockingbird. That area, known as Lower Greenville, still seems to be evolving.

LOWEST GREENVILLE

Lowest Greenville, the area from Belmont Avenue to Ross Avenue, has changed radically since 2011.

Back then, there were a lot more bars and nightclubs — more violent crime and noise, too.

To address these issues, the community turned to zoning changes and streetscape improvements.

Andres Properties and Madison Partners, the primary landlords of Lowest Greenville who have owned property on the street for decades, supported a proposed planned development district and targeted specific-use permits, both of which were intended to lower crime in the area.

Under the new rules, businesses such as bars and nightclubs had to apply for a permit to stay open past midnight. Some of the places that tended to attract crime were denied permits, while others didn’t apply at all.

“We thought on balance in those discussions that achieving the true potential of the neighborhood combined with the streetscape improvements was worth the price of giving up

Partners. “Now in hindsight, that paid off.”

Construction made sidewalks wider, street lanes narrower and traffic slower. But the changes caused almost every tenant to go out of business, brothers Marc and Roger Andres of Andres Properties say.

Still, Lowest Greenville bounced back.

Teppo, which ended a 27-year run in 2022, The Libertine Bar and Greenville Avenue Pizza Co. survived well past the construction. Newer businesses such as HG Sply Co., which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, have also seen success.

Now, Lowest Greenville tenants are more diverse. There are daytime retail stores, barber shops, fitness studios, dessert shops and a grocery store, in addition to bars and restaurants.

Those businesses are surrounded by apartments, single-family homes and townhomes, bringing in a range of customers.

“You see people of all colors on Greenville Avenue, all ages,” Marc says. “I really don’t think there’s another street like it in Dallas. You feel like you’re in a different city.”

About a decade removed from the major changes, the owners say their goals for the area have mostly been realized.

“Usually speaking, major long-term property owners can look at the area more strategically and make leasing decisions based on a bigger-picture view of what the area can become,” Hetzel says.

When selecting tenants, Andres Properties searches for proprietors who fill gaps in the neighborhood, Marc says. For example, Fortune House brought Chinese cuisine.

“It’s dramatically different than what you would have seen 10 years ago,” Marc says. “But that was all intentional. We all were pulling in the same direction. And the intent is not to have it as necessarily a regional draw. It can sustain itself by the neighborhood.”

In addition to selecting complementary tenants, Madison Partners and Andres Properties share parking lots.

On the neighborhood side, residents do their best to make sure parking doesn’t infiltrate the residential surroundings. But Darren Dattalo, a Lower Greenville resident of 24 years, says parking only becomes an issue when businesses geared toward daytime uses want to operate during the night, when restaurants and bars are busiest.

“The parking we have is enough for the mix of retail and restaurant we currently have,” Dattalo says. “If that mix starts skewing more toward restaurant, then it becomes a problem

because it’s not enough.”

LOWER GREENVILLE’S LOST

North of Lowest Greenville, the neighborhood looks and feels different. Property ownership isn’t concentrated in a couple of firms, and excluding a handful of exceptions, the commercial tenants are primarily restaurants and bars.

The area also hasn’t seen the same level of city involve ment. There are no planned development districts, and the city hasn’t invested in a major street-construction project.

But the area has changed. In recent years, several longtime Lower Greenville restaurants have closed.

Some, like St. Martin’s Wine Bistro, Society Bakery and Blue Goose Cantina, are just moving to other places in East Dallas. But others are gone for good.

San Francisco Rose was first. Then came The Grape in 2019.

PegasusAblon purchased The Grape building from the restaurant’s founders. Soon, an interested party offered to buy it for $1 million over the purchase price, says Michael Ablon, a principal at the Dallas-based company. The person wanted to tear down the building and put in a drive-thru bank, Ablon says. PegasusAblon didn’t sell.

“What we tried to do was preserve the building,” Ablon says. “And you never put back in another Grape. What you do is you try to understand the mythology of The Grape that it

unit rental property.

PegasusAblon also owns the Blue Goose Cantina property. Earlier this year, the restaurant left its home on Greenville Avenue, where it stood since 1984, and began searching for another East Dallas location.

An American restaurant called Goodwin’s, named for Goodwin Avenue, along with a currently unnamed 22-seat bar will take the old Blue Goose space.

“We wanted to put something in the neighborhood that could be the neighborhood watering hole, but also, it’s fun and it’s dining,” Ablon says. “It’s something for the next 20 years.”

The team behind the new restaurant includes Austin Rogers, who owns Alamo Club and Mayer’s Garden; David Cash, who owns Smoky Rose; and Jeff Bekavac, who has worked as culinary director for Neighborhood Services and Cane Rosso, among others.

But neighbors have not always mourned the lost restaurants and bars. Last year’s news of the closure of OT Tavern, a bar

at the corner of Greenville Avenue and Martel, was seen as a positive thing by neighbors who had long complained about the violent crime at or immediately surrounding the bar.

Foxtrot, a coffee shop and market, will replace OT Tavern and expects to open sometime later this year.

Another frequent target of neighborhood complaints is Bar 3606. Next door to the future Foxtrot, it’s operating while the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission processes its liquor license renewal documents.

But there’s a zoning case in review that could close Bar 3606. The owners of the building want to establish a new planned development district that would, among other things, limit operating hours and restrict alcoholic beverage establishments.

It would also change parking regulations to allow the number of existing parking spaces to be sufficient for the businesses that want to operate there.

MAKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE WORK

Parking has been an issue for some Lower Greenville businesses. Val’s Cheesecakes doesn’t have enough spaces to allow it to set up tables for customers to eat some cake and drink some wine on site. Owner Valery Jean-Bart says that inability prevents him from earning more revenue, and after years of trying, he hasn’t found a solution.

2023

FOOD & DRINKS

BEST BAKERY

WINNER - LEILA BAKERY & CAFE

2ND - LA BOULANGERIE

3RD - HUMBLE PIE

BEST BAR

WINNER - THE OLD MONK

2ND - LAKEWOOD LANDING

3RD - THE GOAT

BEST BBQ

WINNER - PECAN LODGE

2ND - TERRY BLACK’S BBQ

3RD - ONE90 SMOKED MEATS

BEST BRUNCH

WINNER - DREAM CAFE

2ND - JOHN’S CAFE

3RD - GARDEN CAFE

BEST BURGER

WINNER - RODEO GOAT

2ND - LIBERTY BURGER

3RD - GOODFRIEND BEER GARDEN & BURGER HOUSE

BEST CELEBRATORY

DINNER

WINNER - TERILLI’S

2ND - ST. MARTIN’S WINE BIS -

TRO (TEMPORARILY CLOSED)

3RD - KNIFE DALLAS

BEST CHICKEN SANDWICH

WINNER - PALMER’S

2ND - LUCKY’S HOT CHICKEN

3RD - HATTIE B’S

BEST CHINESE FOOD

WINNER - HELLO DUMPLING

2ND - FORTUNE HOUSE CHINESE

CUISINE

3RD - JIA ASIAN BISTRO

BEST COCKTAILS

WINNER - LOUNGE HERE

2ND - THE BALCONY CLUB

3RD - APOTHECARY

BEST COFFEE

WINNER - WHITE ROCK COFFEE

2ND - LDU COFFEE

3RD - HOUNDSTOOTH

BEST CRITICS CHOICE

WINNER - MIXTITO’S KITCHEN

2ND - CRY WOLF

3RD - REVOLVER TACO LOUNGE

BEST DESSERT

WINNER - EMPORIUM PIES

2ND - HUMBLE PIE

3RD - SUSIECAKES

BEST DONUT SHOP

WINNER - HYPNOTIC DONUT

2ND - LAKEWOOD DONUT

3RD - JARAMS DONUTS

BEST FROZEN TREATS

WINNER - TCBY

2ND - PARLOR’S HANDCRAFTED ICE CREAMS

3RD - BOTOLINO GELATO ARTIGIANALE

BEST HEALTHY BITE

WINNER - HG SPLY CO.

2ND - GARDEN CAFE

3RD - CRISP & GREEN

BEST ITALIAN

WINNER - TERILLI’S

2ND - CAMPISI’S RESTAURANTSMOCKINGBIRD

3RD - SCALINI’S PIZZA & PASTA

BEST JAPANESE/ SUSHI

WINNER - SA SA SUSHI

2ND - OISHII - SMU BLVD

3RD - KAZE JAPANESE RESTAURANT

BEST LATIN

AMERICAN CUISINE

WINNER - GLORIA’S LATIN CUISINE

2ND - LA CALLE DOCE

3RD - HAVANA CAFE-MOJITO BAR

BEST LUNCH SPOT

WINNER - HUDSON HOUSE

2ND - HG SPLY CO.

3RD - THE HEIGHTS

BEST MEDITERRANEAN

WINNER - MAYA’S MODERN MEDITERRANEAN

2ND - CAFE IZMIR

3RD - KOSTAS CAFE

BEST MEXICAN FOOD

WINNER - EL VECINO

2ND - MESO MAYA COMIDA Y COPAS

3RD - E BAR TEX-MEX

BEST NIGHT OUT

WINNER - BALCONY CLUB

2ND - BOWLSKI’S LAKEWOOD

THEATER

3RD - STAN’S BLUE NOTE

BEST PATIO

WINNER - SMOKY ROSE

2ND - OZONA BAR & GRILL

3RD - GARDEN CAFE

BEST PIZZA

WINNER - CANE ROSSO

2ND - SCALINI’S PIZZA & PASTA

3RD - GREENVILLE AVENUE PIZZA CO.

BEST PLACE TO WATCH A GAME

WINNER - WHITE ROCK ALEHOUSE & BREWERY

2ND - CHRISTIE’S

3RD - MILO BUTTERFINGERS

BEST RAMEN

WINNER - WABI HOUSE

2ND - MOT HAI BA

3RD - HINODEYA RAMEN BAR

BEST SANDWICH

WINNER - HILLSIDE TAVERN

2ND - ORIGINAL CHOPSHOP

3RD - BENNY’S LAKEWOOD

BEST SEAFOOD

WINNER - HUDSON HOUSE

2ND - BIG SHUCKS OYSTER BAR

3RD - AW SHUCKS OYSTER BAR

BEST TACOS

WINNER - TACO JOINT

2ND - TACOS LA BANQUETA

3RD - TORCHY’S TACOS

BEST THAI

WINNER - ROYAL THAI

2ND - THAI THAI RESTAURANT

SPONSORED CULTURE

Art on Main

Connecting with our community through art. Join us for our upcoming events

Gentle Yoga – every Sat. in our gallery, 11a/12p

Creation of Man Exhibit - artist JC BarbaReception, 8/5 (7-9p), on view, 7/31 - 8/17

Open Studios – meet our artists, tour their studios & enjoy their art – 8/19 (11a-5p) & 8/20 (12-4p)

3RD - GINGER THAI RESTAURANT

BEST WINE LIST

WINNER - TIMES TEN CELLARS

2ND - BODEGA WINE BAR

3RD - BARCELONA WINE BAR

4428 Main Street, Suite 200 469.507.0590

artonmaindallas.com

Every Picture Tells a Story – Mixed Media Workshop w/artist, Lynne Buchanan, 9/2 (12:30-5:30p)

Halcyon and Stan’s Blue Note, both located in a building owned by Madison Partners, share a parking lot — a lot with potholes that’ll go head-to-head with the neighborhood’s worst.

Because Halcyon and Stan’s are busy at different times, the coffee shop customers don’t generally have a problem finding a place to park, general manager Amanda Campbell says. Plus, there’s usually some street parking.

But the lot fills up quickly.

“I don’t like to park in it,” Campbell says. “It’s really tight, too.”

News of Goodwin’s has brought plenty of attention, and The New York Times already noticed Sister, calling it one of the 50 most-loved restaurants in the country.

It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that Lower Greenville becomes crowded — especially at night, and especially on the weekends. And it doesn’t take a genius to notice there’s not a whole lot of unused space to pave paradise and put up a parking lot in the area.

Finding the balance between what’s good for the residents and what’s good for the businesses is key, Ablon says. Too much parking, and it gets into the neighborhood fabric. Not enough, and businesses struggle.

But Ablon, who grew up in Dallas, says Lower Greenville has always attracted customers from outside the neighborhood, and any notoriety that the newer tenants have received hasn’t necessarily changed that.

“If you’re going to have a strip of restaurants and venues, like Lowest Greenville or Lower Greenville, you have to have a broader audience for the numbers to work,” Ablon says.

“For these restaurants to have that quality of food, that kind of vibe and that funness, you have to do a certain volume. And the neighborhood will support one, but it won’t support a lot of them.”

ONE FOR ALL

Story by RENEE UMSTED

Photography

by

KATHY TRAN & LAUREN ALLEN

A steakhouse, a martini bar, a sushi omakase restaurant and a coffee shop walk into the Continental Gin Building.

They ask the landlord if it’s alright to hang around for a while.

And the landlord says yes.

The goal of Fiction Coffee was to create a welcoming environment, evoking Southern hospitality, as soon as visitors walk into the Continental Gin Building.

It’s not as if the Continental Gin Building is the home of the lotus-eaters, where visitors, enchanted by the local cuisine, forget about returning to their daily lives.

But if someone walks into the historic Deep Ellum property for a morning coffee, there’s a chance they’ll stay all day.

And that’s just how Dallas-based August Real Estate, the firm that owns the building, likes it. A decade in California convinced company co-founder Evan August that Dallas was missing creative offices — spaces finished with hardwood or sealed-concrete floors and exposed brick and ceilings. Industrial-feeling, they embrace and emphasize the raw materials. They’re where creative companies want to be, August says.

Constructed in 1888, the three-story structure now known as the Continental Gin Building was

owned by the Munger Improved Cotton Machine Manufacturing Co., once a large manufacturer of cotton gins and related equipment. For the August family, the building was the perfect canvas for a creative office in Dallas.

“We thought it was going to be mostly office,” says August, who co-founded August Real Estate with his brother, Jordan. “We were hopeful that the ground floor was going to accommodate retail.”

After the building was acquired, the area around it saw development and densification with additions including Baylor Scott & White’s headquarters on North Washington Avenue and the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge campus on North Hall Street. Hosting retail in the Continental Gin Building seemed less like a dream, August says.

Around mid-2020, August made a deal with Common Desk to operate coworking space upstairs and a Fiction Coffee in the lobby.

Nick

Clark, the founder and CEO

of Common Desk, says the idea was to use the coffee shop to differentiate the Continental Gin Building from other offices. It’s the first thing visitors see when they walk inside.

“Really what we set out to do with the August family is to try to almost bury the lead that it’s an office building,” Clark says. “The hope and the idea with the Continental Gin Building was that you walk into the building and that it almost feels and interacts more like a boutique hospitality environment as opposed to

an office building.”

Fiction Coffee isn’t supposed to be a place to grab a cup and go. The goal is for customers to embrace their surroundings while enjoying food and drinks. The shop sources coffee beans from North Carolina-based Counterculture and partners with local businesses such as Starship Bagel to bring in food items. A rotating coffee menu keeps drinks seasonal.

Fiction Coffee is flanked on both sides by food and beverage concepts. On one end sit Tina’s Continental and Tatsu Dallas, and on the other, construction is underway on a steakhouse called Let’s Ask Keith.

Tatsu, a 10-seat sushi omakase restaurant, signed a lease with August Real Estate for a 2,000-square-foot space in April 2021.

Coming from New York, Tatsuya Sekiguchi — often called Chef Tatsu — wanted to find a building with the right energy for his new restaurant, he tells the Advocate with the help of a translator.

Sekiguchi discovered the Continental Gin Building online and visited it in person, finding it familiar. The red-brick facade reminded him of the exterior of Omakase Room by Tatsu, a restaurant he started in New York’s West Village. And the facility was built around the same time as the restaurant Sekiguchi’s family has owned for generations in Japan.

Construction was extensive: Walls, plumbing, a grease trap and ventilation had to be added prior to the restaurant’s May 2022 opening date.

Since then, the restaurant has been serving a chef-determined menu of 15-18 courses to two seatings of customers nightly. Tatsu Dallas is not yet 2 years old, but it’s already earning recognition. Earlier this year,

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the James Beard Foundation named it a semifinalist for the Best New Restaurant award.

The food and beverage concepts literally feed off of each other; Sekiguchi said the Tatsu Dallas staff frequents Fiction Coffee, and they see the two newest tenants — Tina’s Continental and the forthcoming steakhouse, Let’s Ask Keith — as positive additions to the building.

Limited parking is something Sekiguchi is worried about, though.

But Elias Pope, a co-owner of the group behind Tina’s Continental and Let’s Ask Keith (along with Milli, HG Sply Co. and Leela’s) says they’ll have a valet with 180 parking spots off-site.

Pope’s company, UNCO, was asked by August Real Estate to operate a bar at the property. The developer had ideas for the bar, but it wasn’t what UNCO would have done.

“We build thematic spaces,” Pope says. “So we focus heavily on the concept — whereas, this bar was more of a bar, an amenity to the building.”

But Pope wanted to work with August Real Estate because of their commitment to holding properties for generations, rather than building to sell. So the UNCO team developed their own plan for an 800-square-foot martini bar inspired by the Lincoln Continental Mark V of the 1970s — specifically, the 1979 edition designed by Bill Blass.

The bar area is made to look like the car’s bumper, with red lights illuminating cases on either end like tail lights and a half-circle mirror in the middle.

But it’s not just the interior design that draws from the land yacht. Visitors can order from the “Designer Series” — a set list of martinis — or go for a “Custom Build” and customize their own drink. Similarly, Con -

though

tinental buyers could choose a model from the Designer Series, created by Emilio Pucci, Givenchy, Cartier and Blass, or build the car to their own specifications.

“We’re not trying to be anything besides a solid martini bar for the community around here,” Pope says. “When Let’s Ask Keith opens, we’re excited to have this space as a unique either start or finish to your dinner.”

While Tina’s is named for the sister of UNCO co-owner Sameer Patel, Let’s Ask Keith is named for Pope’s father. He was the human Google for Pope, growing up in Greenville, Texas, before the internet.

An Oliver tractor that Pope’s grandfather rebuilt will be placed out front to direct people to the 6,100-square-foot steakhouse — enough space to fit 389 diners inside and on the patio.

The menu will contain foods similar to what Pope’s family ate in the country, what they call “East Texas provision”: steaks, potatoes, fresh vegetables and whatever they could wrap in a tortilla (i.e. fajitas).

It’s not a white tablecloth establishment where a steak the size of a child’s hand will set you back a couple of Andrew Jacksons, Pope says. The prices and food will be approachable.

The Continental Gin Building won’t be the only property to manifest the August family’s vision, though. They also own Lakewood Tower and recently acquired 17 buildings in the Exposition Park area, and they have plans for all of it.

“Our strategy as a company now is trying to create some mixed use so that it starts to feed off each other, like the office tenants get to enjoy the retail,” August says. “They populate the retail and give the retail business.”

Big renovations call for big experience.

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Who’s coming to dinner?

HOW TWO EAST DALLAS FAMILIES HOST

Story by RENEE UMSTED | Photography by VICTORIA GOMEZ

Adinner party at Sheetal and Dipesh Patel’s house isn’t just any dinner party.

They don’t even call them dinner parties. They call them cocktail experiences.

Five or six couples are invited to their neighborhood home for a special occasion, one that justifies getting a babysitter.

Weeks of planning goes into one of these events, where guests are treated to a multi-course menu featuring handmade cocktails and foods to pair with them. And the menu doesn’t just exist in Sheetal’s head; it’s printed out for guests.

“She’s the mastermind behind it,” Dipesh says of his wife. “I just execute a lot of the vision.”

Sheetal grew up in a family that enjoyed hosting, and it’s something she has embraced as an adult.

But the inspiration for the cocktail experiences came from an activity the Patels participated in while they were living in Washington, D.C. One of their favorite lounges, the Columbia Room, would offer cocktail-driven flights paired with small bites.

They’ve made the food and drink pairings their own by infusing the experience with spirits and foods they’ve enjoyed during their travels.

Dipesh and Sheetal have visited about 50

countries. About a decade ago, they took a 93day trip around the world, hitting 14 countries on six continents. Now, with two young children, they aim for two international trips each year.

“We try to go to kind of cool places where the kids can get a new, unique experience, and we can too,” Dipesh says. “And a lot of those places, we’ll try to get sitters to watch the kids while we explore the city as well. But all of that does lead to things that come back home, which normally will end up being a bottle of liquor or something we’ll learn about the cuisine there.”

For example, on a recent trip to Spain, they learned about Spanish vermouth, and they plan to incorporate it into a cocktail at their next event, which they hold about once a month. They’ve also introduced their guests to byrrh — kind of a French take on amaro, they say, popular in the 19th century.

“When people come over, they’ve never heard of a byrrh,” Sheetal says. “So we’ll show them the bottle, and we’ll talk about that. So it’s more of an experience where our friends learn more about spirits that they may not have tried.”

All of the liquor, glassware and supplies needed to prepare cocktails is stored in the Patels’ spirits library, a wall of built-in shelving

Dipesh and Sheetal Patel limit the guest list for their cocktail experiences to a handful of couples, allowing everyone to converse with each other. Photo courtesy of Sheetal Patel.

Herman and Kelly Guerra say their new pool has become the main attraction at parties they host.

featuring a sliding ladder.

Neither of them have taken courses on mixology. Rather, they have consulted a few books to teach themselves, and they have a lot of practice.

“It’s amazing to see how different cultures deal with food and spirits and how it all comes together,” Sheetal says. “There’s ceremony to it, which I love, and that’s how we try to do it for our experiences.”

There seems to be an understanding among neighborhood families that the Guerras’ house is the place to be.

“We always seem to have people at our house,” Kelly Guerra says.

Kelly and her husband, Herman, both graduates of Bryan Adams High School, have sons who attended Hexter Elementary School, and their friends live in the area, around Eastwood and Lake Park Estates near Peavy and Garland Road.

Even before the Guerras installed a pool in their backyard, their home on Peavy Road was the hangout spot, complete with a trampoline, soccer goals, ping pong and plenty of room to romp.

Now, there are usually three or four kids in the house who don’t belong to Herman and Kelly.

It’s almost always informal. Friends of the Guerra kids just kind of show up. They have “the best” house and “the best”

Glasses and liquor are stored and displayed in the Patels’ spirits library, a wall full of shelves complete with a sliding ladder.

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snacks — at least, that’s what Herman and Kelly have heard from the kids.

But the adults love the house, too.

One time, the night of the Hexter Elementary fundraiser and subsequent afterparty at Goodfriend, 30 adults collectively decided to keep the celebrations going at the Guerras’ house. They ended up ordering about 100 tacos from Taqueria Taxco.

“We killed like 80 of them,” Herman says. “Then we woke up the next morning to taco grease all over that deck. It was a brand new deck.”

Some parties are far less spontaneous, though.

The Guerras have had five or six tamale-making parties, held annually around the holidays. It started small, but as years progressed, Kelly began receiving calls from people wanting to come.

They had as many as 50 people — parents and kids — in their house for the holiday party. The Guerras would move all of their furniture and set up tables. Guests would bring their own pressure cookers, using every available outlet.

A white elephant gift exchange was also part of the festivities.

“That became more of the draw and not so much the tamales,” Kelly says. “And then it was just more to have a party, and we’d just get done with the tamales real quick so that we could hang out and not work on making tamales.”

Last year, they and a small group of friends decided to skip the tamales and instead have a holiday gathering at Hudson House. The event had just gotten too big for the Guerras’ house.

They’ve also hosted an employee appreciation party for Greenville Avenue Pizza Co. at the request of the owner, Sammy Mandell, who’s a friend of the Guerras. Many birthday parties, some featuring mechanical bulls, smoked pigs and carnival games, have been held in the backyard.

The Guerras, who own HG & Co. Home Improvement, say the hardest part about hosting is cleaning. But when guests stay in the backyard, the cleanup is a little easier.

“I actually do like hosting,” Kelly says. “I mean, that’s not why we put a pool in, but that’s definitely something you have to think about, when you make your backyard nicer, because people are going to want to come over.”

Sheetal and Dipesh Patel can make some cocktails in batches ahead of parties, but they have to make others during the events.

The Compensation Conundrum

Who, what, when, where and why we tip

Story

by ALYSSA HIGH | Illustration by LAUREN ALLEN

You walk into a restaurant. A coffee shop. A bar. A clothing store. You get your drink or other product, and as you tap your card on the scanner, the employee flips their screen around, prompting you to choose an 18%-22% tip. You’ve got questions. Where does the tip go? What are you even tipping for?

Questions about tipping aren’t new. In fact, historical accounts show that Americans were apathetic to tipping wages in the 1860s.

“I don’t understand some businesses that are asking for tips nowadays,” one Dallasite says on Nextdoor. “Why would I tip someone for ringing up my Big Gulp. Pretty soon we will be prompted to tip during self-checkout.”

Others question the percent system, as the cost of the food doesn’t affect the server’s amount of work.

“Now, if we order a $50 bottle of wine, that’s $10. If we decide to order a $500 bottle of wine, I am expected to tip $100,” another neighbor chimes in. “Why is that? The same amount of effort went into the service.”

Others are starting to notice the flip-and-tip at retail establishments, where service isn’t occurring.

“I am baffled by the tipping option in retail stores,” one Redditer complained. “Honestly it is a little off-putting. In fact, it has made me stop going into stores to shop.”

So, when do you tip?

Each owner and type of restaurant has a different school of thought when it comes to tipping and wages.

“In full-service, tip/gratuity should be more than 20%, just because of the economy the 15% is definitely obsolete,” Haystack owner Kevin Galvan says. “It should be more like 20%, 22%, 25% because of the amount of work these people are doing for $2.13 an hour.”

In Haystack restaurants where the dining isn’t full-service, employees are paid an hourly wage, and tips are earned by employees going overthe-top.

“We make sure they’re doing something for the tips, so drinkware, refills, pre-bussing tables, offering cloth napkins, trying to offer a fullservice experience even though we are fastcasual,” Galvan says. “I’ve never asked for big numbers from people because some people ask for 15%-20% on a $60 tab but you’re not doing $12 worth of work.”

Galvan pools tips among all employees, which he finds encourages every member of the team to give the best service possible.

Others, like White Rock Coffee, apply the same teamwork-style tip pool but to tipped wages.

WRC baristas split tips among all locations, and then tips are divided by the number of hours worked for each employee. This system increases wages for baristas in locations with a slower pace, with locations like Lake Highlands seeing less activity than locations in East Dallas or Preston Hollow.

“[I prefer] making a tipped wage because it’s really up to you how much you make,” says Samantha Oser, a barista at White Rock Coffee.

The tipping struggle isn’t limited to dining. Hairstylists, for example, make tipping wages at most salons and often don’t get to take home the full charge for the service.

“You’re usually splitting the cost of service with the owners. Depending on how much the commission percentage is, you can take only 60%, 50%, 40% or 30% home with you,” Kristian Taylor, a cosmetologist at Capelli Salon in Preston Hollow says. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of us who rely on those tips just to make ends meet. … A lot of people don’t realize all of the education and hard work that comes behind a service. For instance, if I worked five hours on your hair and it came out beautifully, it’d feel great to be shown that you’re appreciated by receiving more than 20%.”

TERMS:

Tip-out/tip share: In many restaurants, servers share a portion of their tip with other tipped employees, particularly those who have helped them in their shift. Commonly, this includes bartenders and bussers. This can be based on a percent of sales the employee had or a percent of their tip, depending on the restaurant’s policy.

Tipped wage: In Texas, $2.13 per hour. If the employee doesn’t receive the equivalent of $5.12 per hour, employers must make up the difference to meet federal minimum wage requirements.

Automatic gratuity: Some restaurants have automatic gratuity for large parties. High-end restaurants might include an automatic gratuity regardless. This ensures that the server is receiving adequate pay. If the automatic gratuity is around 20%, you are not expected to pay an additional tip.

Front-of-house employee: Employees who work in the front of the restaurant and typically make tipped wages. Can include servers, bussers, bartenders and hosts.

Back-of-house employee: Employees who work in the back/the kitchen. These employees typically make hourly wages and could include cooks, quality assurance and dishwashers.

Why do we tip?

Federal and state labor standards allow employees who receive tips to be paid a lower minimum wage than hourly employees. In Texas, this wage is $2.13 an hour, though if the employee doesn’t make $5.12 per hour in tips, the employer must make up the difference.

How is this decided?

At the end of the shift, employees clock out and calculate how much they have received in cash and electronic tips. Tip-out, if applicable, is also calculated. Some are given their electronic tips at the end of the shift. Others wait for a weekly, biweekly or monthly paycheck.

Who receives tipped wages?

Drivers, delivery personnel, hairdressers, servers and bartenders almost always receive a tipped wage. Recently, some coffee shops and restaurants have made a switch to higher hourly wages.

Why do restaurants use tipped wages rather than hourly wages?

Restaurants can have lower prices on food if they pay their servers less. Servers can make more money off of tips than they would on an hourly wage. Tipped wages incentivize employees to up-sell to their customers.

Why eliminate tipped wages?

It would eliminate the wage gap between front-of-house employees and back-of-house employees. The wage gap between servers at restaurants that tend to have higher tabs and those with lower tabs would be smaller. Wages for tipped employees would be more regular, leaving them with a liveable wage regardless of tips. Calculating income tax would be easier — many servers avoid reporting their full wages to the IRS by not reporting all of their cash tips.

HOW MUCH DO I TIP:

Servers……………………….20% of the bill before tax

Bartenders…………………...20% of the bill before tax or $1 per drink for simpler drinks like beer

Baristas………………….…….20% is always nice but not required, many make hourly wages

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OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

By PATTI VINSON

Home grown

Making meals with ingredients straight from the garden

Lakewood neighbor Peter Schaar was giving me the grand tour of his garden recently when he plucked a leaf and handed it to me. “Here, taste this,” he says.

There’s a certain level of trust involved when someone encourages you to eat a plant you can’t identify, but Schaar, a longtime gardener and retired mathematician and scientist, knows his plants. He cooks with them several times each week.

But don’t bother asking him for recipes.

“My cooking is spontaneous, using well-known techniques and combinations I think will work,” Schaar says.

Yes, he browses through cookbooks, but he says he uses them m only as inspiration and general guidelines.

Now 86, Schaar took over in the kitchen out of necessity in the 1980s: He received medical test results he wasn’t pleased with and decided to tackle the problem with a healthier diet.

He approaches cooking as a scientist: “I see connections and patterns” in recipes, he says.

It’s no surprise he views cooking through a scientific lens, given his background and education. Schaar’s Ph.D. in biophysics from UT Health Sciences Center enabled a career at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, followed by years as a rocket scientist — quite literally — at LTV in Grand Prairie.

“I designed and led teams in building real-time simulations that tested missile guidance and control systems,” he says.

The end of the Cold War brought an

end to his work there, at which point he took an improbable turn into a second career as a garden designer and horticultural consultant.

He had begun gardening back in 1969, when he and his late wife, Julie, bought a house.

“I was faced with maintaining the grounds, which forced me to start learning about gardening.”

Schaar is largely self-taught, but he picked up tips by joining the Dallas Area Historical Rose Society and the Native Plant Society of Texas. As he learned more, he shared his expertise by teaching organic gardening at Brookhaven College and waterwise organic gardening at Texas Discovery Gardens.

Over time, he began to include edible plants here and there in his lush green spaces. As he walks through the garden, he points out familiar herbs: rosemary, sweet basil, Mexican mint marigold, spearmint. They’re all put to good use in Schaar’s salads and sauces.

He’ll frequently flavor cooked meats, pasta sauces and stews with his Mediterranean oregano, Mexican oregano and autumn sage. And his roast chicken is likely to be stuffed with hierba anis or culinary sage plucked from his backyard.

If fish is on the menu, Schaar might add flavor with black and blue sage. Or he’s been known to wrap and roast it in hoja santa leaves. His large turmeric leaves also serve as a wrap for steaming

Peter Schaar, 86, uses herbs grown in his home garden to flavor dishes.

and flavoring fish and chicken.

Schaar stuffs and fries the blossoms from his yucca plant, cooks down his Swiss chard for healthy greens, and creates salads with his harvested arugula, jewels of ophir, and oxalis crassipes. Sometimes he’ll add a bit of flair and dramatic presentation to salads with a sprinkling of begonia flowers, which taste distinctly lemony.

He cooks not only for himself, but for others, too. As part of the meals team at First Unitarian Church of Dallas, he delivers dishes such as caldo de pescado, Brazilian stew, and tortas de huevos to those in the congregation who need support. Not surprisingly, he enjoys hosting dinner parties, and he delights in bring -

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ing his culinary creations to potlucks at his Cook and Tell Book Club.

For those new to gardening, Schaar has this advice: “Plan to garden organically. Seek advice from those who already do it successfully. And remember that no one is born knowing how to garden; we are all on a learning curve.”

And cooking?

“Cooking isn’t about recipes. It’s about ingredients, combinations and techniques. Once you’ve mastered those three things, you can wing it.”

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.

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“Remember that no one is born knowing how to garden; we are all on a learning curve.”

Photography by Emil Lippe.

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COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

AT ODDS WITH YOUR COMPUTER? Easily Learn Essential Skills. Services include Digital Photo Help. Sharon 214-679-9688

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let a seasoned pro be the interface between you & that pesky Windows computer. Hardware/Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $100/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 972-639-6413 / stykidan@sbcglobal.net

CONCRETE/MASONRY/PAVING

ADVANCE STONE ART CREATIONS

Decorative Concrete Overlays. 214-705-5954

BRICK WORK, DRIVEWAYS, PATIOS, Flagstone. Call Eli 469-870-5420

CONCRETE, Driveway Specialist Repairs, Replacement, Removal, References. Reasonable. Chris 214-770-5001

CONCRETE, RETAINING WALLS 25 yrs exp.

T&M Construction, Inc. 214-328-6401

EDMONDSPAVING.COM Asphalt & Concrete Driveway-Sidewalk-Patio-Repair 214-957-3216

FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls, BBQ’s, Veneer, Flower Bed Edging, All Stone work. Chris 214-770-5001

JOHNSON PAVING Concrete, Asphalt, Driveways. New or Repair. 214-827-1530

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricdfw. com

50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333

BRIGHT LIGHT ELECTRIC • 214-553-5333

TECL 31347 Brightening Homes and Businesses

LAKEWOOD ELECTRICAL Local. Insured. Lic. #227509 Call Rylan 214-434-8735

TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

WHITE ROCK ELECTRIC All Electrical Services. Lic/Insd.TECL-34002 214-850-4891

EXTERIOR CLEANING

G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

FENCING & DECKS

4 QUALITY FENCING • 214-507-9322 Specializing in Wood. YourWoodmaster.com

AMBASSADOR FENCE CO. Automatic Gates, Fences/Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers, Arbors. AmbassadorFenceCo.com

214-621-3217

FENCING, ARBORS, DECKS oldgatefence.com

214-766-6422

LONESTARDECKS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

HANNAH WOODWORKS

• Decks • Pergolas

• Patio Covers

Hannahwoodworks.com

214-435-9574

FLOORING & CARPETING

HASTINGS FLOORS Epoxy Garage Foors

Many colors to choose (flakes optional) Call Nick for bid 214-341-5993 hastingsfloors.com

HARDWOOD INSTALLATIONS Waterproof, hardwood, carpets, tile laminate, & vinyl click. 214-772-9503. Free In Home estimates

• Slabs • Pier & Beam

• Mud Jacking • Drainage

• Free Estimates

• Over 20 Years Exp. 972-288-3797

We Answer Our Phones

GARAGE SERVICES

UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned. 214-251-5428

GENERAL CONTACTING

A2H GENERAL CONTRACTING,LLC Remodel, Paint, Drywall/Texture, Plumbing. Electrical, Siding, Bathroom/Kitchen Remodels Tilling, Flooring, Fencing. 469-658-9163. Free Est. A2HGeneralContactingLLC@gmail.com

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

LAKE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR frameless shower enclosures • store fronts replacement windows • mirrors 214-349-8160

PRO WINDOW CLEANING prompt, dependable. Matt 214-766-2183

ROCK GLASS CO Replace, Repair. Single, Double Panes. Showers, Mirrors. 214-837-7829

HANDYMAN SERVICES

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

DANHANDY.NET Repairs Done Right For A Fair Price. References 214-991-5692

HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635

HANDYMAN WANTS your Painting,Repairs, To Do Lists. Bob. 214-288-4232. Free Est. 25+yrs exp.

HOME REPAIR Doors, Trim, Glass. Int/Ext. Sheetrock, Windows, Kitchen, Bathroom 35 yrs exp. 214-875-1127

HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606

ONE CALL WEEKEND SERVICES

Contractor & Handyman. Remodels, Renovations . Paint, Plumbing, Drywall, Electrical. 469-658-9163

Let

Tackle Your To-Do List!

Interior & Exterior Painting

Siding • Gutters

$500 OFF

*Applies to Complete Exterior Repaint ask about details

Over 25 years of experience

Free Estimates

214-702-2188 morganexteriorsdfw.com

HECTOR PEREZ PAINTING

Commercial/residential. Intrior/ Exterior. Fair Rates. 214-489-0635

INT / EXT PAINTING, DRYWALL, SIDING And repairs call Eli 469-870-5420

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

TEXAS BEST PAINTING LLC Resd,Interiors 30Yrs. 214-527-4168

TOP COAT 30 Yrs. Exp. Reliable. Quality Repair/Remodel. Phil @ 214-770-2863

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext. Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

KITCHEN/BATH/TILE/GROUT

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

MELROSE TILE James Sr., Installer, Repairs. 40 Yrs. Exp. MelroseTile.com 214-384-6746

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

Complete Full Service Repairs, Kitchen & Bath/Remodeling, Restoration. Name It- We Do It. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

JIM 972-992-4660

WE REFINISH!

For complete terms and conditions, visit advocatemag.com/advertisingterms.

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

#1 WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS Professionals, Experts, Artists serving Dallas 15 years.Trim, Removals. Tree Health Care services. Insured. Arborwizard.com. Free Est. (972) 803-6313.

A BETTER TREE MAN Trims, Removals, Insd.

18 Yrs Exp. Roberts Tree Service. 214-808-8925

Lawns, Gardens & Trees

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

Sprinkler & Valve Repair/ Rebuild Older Systems. Lic. #1742. 214-398-8061

MAYA TREE SERVICE Tree Trim/Remove. Lawn Maintenance. Resd/ Commcl.Insd. CC’s Accptd. mayatreeservice.com

214-924-7058 214-770-2435

MONSTER TREE SERVICE DALLAS

Certified Arborists, Fully Insured 469.983.1060

NEW LEAF TREE, LLC

Honest, Modern, Safety Minded. 214-850-1528

PAT TORRES 214-388-1850 Lawn Service & Tree

Care. 28 Yrs. Complete Landscape Renovation. New Fence Install & Brick Repair. Concrete Removal and Gutter Cleaning.

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779 RedSunLandscapes.com

TAYLOR MADE IRRIGATION Repairs, service, drains. 30+ years exp. Ll 6295 469-853-2326. John

DALLAS KDR SERVICES

• Lawn service

PEST CONTROL

REMODELING

SERVICES FOR YOU

ARE YOU A PET OWNER? Do you want to get up to 100% back on vet bills?

Physicians Mutual Insurance Company has pet coverage that can help! Call 1-844-774- 0206. insurebarkmeow.com/ads

"Keeping Children & Pets in Mind"

Termite Specialist - Mosquito Mister Systems

Licensed · Insured · Residential · Commercial · Organic 214-350-3595 • Abetterearth.crw@gmail.com abetterearth.com

PLUMBING

AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943

PLUMBING ISSUES?

We’re the Experts!

972-379-4000 staggsplumbing.co ASK ABOUT DISCOUNTS!

POOLS

CERULEAN POOL SERVICES Family Owned/ Operated. Weekly maintenance, Chemicals, parts & repairs. CeruleanPro.com 214-557-6996

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

C.A.S. BOOKKEEPING SERVICES

Personal/Small Business. Payroll, Accounting, Organizing, Consult. Cindy 214-577-7450

REAL ESTATE ESTATE HOME NEEDS TO BE SOLD? Facing forclosure? IG Heron Homes Call Ricardo Garza @ 469-426-7839

GARDEN OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT Walnut Hill @ CENTRAL.3 Smaller Suites Avail. Flexible Terms 214.915. 8886

OFFICE SUBLEASE In Bishop Arts. Cool, Quiet.

1,179 Sq ft. 4 rooms + kit / bath, parking. $2,950 + NNNs. 713.302-7722.

Complete Kitchen/Bath Remodels/New Additions Granite, Marble, Tile, Travertine Fully Insured Residential/Commercial 214.870.5420

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

FENN CONSTRUCTION Kitchens And Baths. Call Us For Your Remodeling Needs. 214-343-4645. dallastileman.com

KEYS AND GRIM

30 years of experience in residential remodeling. “They are the best…and so nice.” ~ Mom keysandgrim.com 214-952-4490

O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 24 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

S&L CONSTRUCTION All Home Services & Repairs. 214-918-8427

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

Complete Full Service Repairs, Kitchen & Bath/Remodeling, Restoration. Name It- We Do It. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

MP ARCHITECTURAL Design & Construction. mattandpaul.com 214-226-1186

ROOFING & GUTTERS

BERT ROOFING INC.

Family owned and operated for over 40 years

• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates www.bertroofing.com 214.321.9341

LICENSED INSURED LOCAL

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 855-761-1725

BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920. Consultation,production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author’s guide 1-877-729-4998 or visit dorranceinfo.com/ads

469.870.5420

DENTAL INSURANCE-Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Covers 350 procedures. Real insurance -not a discount plan. Get your free dental info kit! 1-888-623-3036 www.dental50plus.com/58 #6258

DIRECTV STREAM - Carries the most local MLB Games! ChoicePackage $89.99/mo for 12 mos Stream on 20 devices at once.HBO Max included for 3 mos (w/Choice Package or higher.)No contract or hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS 1-866859-0405

DISH TV $64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply.Promo Expires 7/21/21.1-833-872-2545

DONATE YOUR CARS TO VETERANS TODAY. Help and Support our Veterans. Fast - FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1-800 -245-0398

ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER!

LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-855-402-0373

FREE HIGH SPEED INTERNET if qualified. Govt. pgm for recipients of select pgms incl. Medicaid, SNAP, Housing Assistance, WIC, Veterans Pension, Survivor Benefits, Lifeline, Tribal. 15 GB internet. Android tablet free w/one-time $20 copay. Free shipping. Maxsip Telecom! 1-833-758-3892

GENERAC Prepare for power outages today with a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Down + Low Monthly Pmt. Request a free Quote. Call before the next power outage: 1-844-334 -8353

HUGHESNET Finally, super-fast internet no matter where you live.25 Mbps just $59.99/mo!

Unlimited Data is Here. Stream Video. Bundle TV & Internet. Free Installation. Call 866-499 -0141

MOBILE HELP, America's premier mobile medical alert system. Whether you're home or away. For safety & peace of mind. No long term contracts! Free brochure! 1-888-489-3936

FULLY

PEST CONTROL

MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 + Tax For General Treatment.

Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services.

214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident

MOSQUITO SHIELD 972–850-2983

Imagine A Night Outside Without Mosquitoes

NATURE KING PEST MANAGEMENT INC.

Squirrels, Racoons, Skunks, Snakes, Possums, etc.

Pest & Termite. Neighborhood Resident 30+ Yrs.exp. 214-827-0090

Roofing iding utters Joe Clifford www exteriorscc.net 469·291·7039

SAFE STEP North America's #1 Walk-in tub. Comprehensive lifetime warranty. Top-of-theline installation and service. Now featuring our free shower package & $1600 off - limited time! Financing available. 1-855-417-1306

SWITCH & SAVE up to $250/yr on talk, text & data. No contractor hidden fees. Unlimited talk & text with flexible data plans. Premium nationwide coverage. 100% U.S. based service. 1-855-903-3048

THE GENERAC PWRCELL, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services

TUTOR/LESSONS

Residential • Commercial (214) 503-7663

WANTED: OBOE TEACHER needed for 14 year old student. Call 214–235-7429

Photo by Cherie Callaway

End End Real Estate Experience to