A QUIET PLACE TO STUDY

THE ‘BOARDING EXPERIENCE’ COMING TO OAK CLIFF

Story by RACHEL STONE |

THE FIRST “BOARDING EXPERIENCE” for Dallas ISD students whose homes lack the stability needed to reach higher achievements is expected to open in Oak Cliff this fall.

At Last! is under construction at 405 E. Overton Road, near South Oak Cliff High School, but it’s not a school. It’s intended to be a home away from home where boarders live Monday-Friday. They can attend any school, but an enrollment lottery will give preference to students who live in the neighborhood surrounding the dormitories.

The first 16 students, who could move in as early as next year, will be elementary age, and they could stay with the program through middle school. The plan is to eventually build three houses sleeping 16 boarders each.

“We are not curricular. We don’t seek to replicate what teachers and principals do,” says Randy Bowman, a DISD graduate and businessman who is the CEO of At Last! “We are more replicating what parents do when they come home from work and give their kids a snack and ask them how their day went and what homework they have.”

HOW AT LAST! WORKS:

The 16 scholars-in-residence will live at the house from about 3 p.m. Sunday until they leave for school Friday morning. Each house will have a dining area and great room similar to that of a middle-class home, with family-style meals at a dinner table, quiet places to study and tutoring as needed. There will be four bedroom suites, each with

Photography by DANNY FULGENCIO

a bathroom, that sleep four students. “Some kids don’t have the luxury of space, a quiet place to go and get your work done,” Bowman says. “It’s going to look like a well-resourced home where you can crawl onto a chair and do your work.” While kids are at school, their parents are invited to come and help tidy up the house and visit with the house parent. About 12 people are expected to be employed there during the first year.

unfold to get everyone ready for the next day. After homework is done, students have free time when they can socialize or call their parents and then go to bed at about 9 p.m.

GRANDPARENT WAKE-UP:

Bowman says the nonprofit plans to hire older adults who live in the neighborhood to arrive at 6 a.m. every morning to wake up the students and get them ready for the school day. “These would be fixed-income people who could work roughly 10 hours a week,” Bowman says. “We need you to wake these kids up in a way that leaves them feeling good about themselves and the day ahead. To leave them feeling like they’ve just gotten a warm embrace and can feel like proficient learners.”

EXTRACURRICULAR:

ADULTS IN THE HOUSE:

The house parent will live in an apartment within the residence and will be a counselor who does everything that parents do in that 3-8 p.m. window. The house parent leads the “culture” of the house, setting a tone for relationships and behavior, Bowman says. “It’s an incredibly important hire for us,” he says. The house parent helps students de-stress from the day, makes sure they have their snacks and takes them through a wellness assessment. They ask, “What do you need to get done?” and figure out how the evening should

The house parents will encourage students and make sure they have the resources to pursue their personal interests — from music, to language to coding.

HOW THE FIRST HOUSE IS DIFFERENT:

The 5,700-square-foot building currently under construction will cost about $1.54 million and could be completed as early as mid-October. It will also house the nonprofit’s office and conference room, as well as a nurse’s office, an industrial laundry room and a kitchen that will provide meals for all three residences. The cost also includes an expensive driveway and fire lane that won’t have to be replicated for the other houses.

CONCERNS ABOUT CHILD ABUSE:

“We’re

In constructing the house, they’re adding surveillance cameras in all areas that are appropriate. Adults will not be allowed to be alone with children where there could be opportunities for abuse, he says. The nonprofit will run deep background checks that are more invasive than what licensing requires. They will also hire an outside agency to review internal processes.

WHAT IT COSTS:

The nonprofit’s 2020 operating budget was about $425,000. Bowman expects the budget for the 2020-2021 school year, from August to July, to be about $890,000. After that, it could cost about $675,000 a year.

HOW IT’S FUNDED:

The Hoblitzelle Foundation was the nonprofit’s first major donor with $100,000. They also received $75,000 from the Hillcrest Foundation. The Bowman Family Trust has donated, as well as the Communities Foundation of Texas, the Village Giving Circle at the Dallas Women’s Foundation and the Simmons Sisters Fund. The Dallas City Council approved a $400,000 conditional reimbursement grant for the nonprofit, but Bowman says they haven’t received it yet. “We haven’t received a penny of public money at this point,” Bowman says. “Although we are grateful for the conditional grant.” Last year, the nonprofit organized a dominoes tournament at Red Bird Mall. The radio station KTCK got involved, and they raised $60,000. They’re planning to make it an annual event, with the next one planned for Labor Day weekend. Bowman thinks it has the potential to raise as much as $250,000.

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“SIMPLE DONE EXCEPTIONAL” is the mantra Scott TerracianoSpence and his business partners Jeff Braunstein and Martin Hennessy used to create Dugg Burger.

After working in the corporate restaurant industry for years, they cultivated their own restaurant and came up with Dugg Burger, a build-your-own, go-down-the-line-style of building a burger.

The family-friendly joint offers options for everyone. “Even though our menu is simple, we have something for burger and chicken lovers, salad eaters, gluten-free dieters and vegetarians,” Spence says. “We even have chalk available for kids to draw with on our brick wall.”

The restaurant hones in on simplicity by doing a few things but doing them well.

Customers start by choosing a brioche bun or carb-friendly option, a bowl of mixed greens. Next comes the protein: beef, crispy or grilled chicken or a portabella mushroom. Next, customers can choose between five types of cheese and more than 15 options of condiments and vegetables.

They offer a unique no mayo chili-lime slaw and a custom Dugg Sauce. It is Thousand Island base mixed with roasted garlic, capers and shallots.

“One of our employees once described it as being ‘more like Ten Thousand Island dressing’ when he had it the first time,” Spence says.

The name Dugg comes from the unique aspect of the burger. The top of each bun is “dugg” out, so all of the toppings stay on the burger. Dugg uses the leftover bun to make its homemade bread pudding.

The first location opened in Casa Linda in 2015.

“We’ve had great success with our original unit in Casa

Linda. We’ve become ‘the neighborhood place’ there and felt that Preston Hollow offered the same opportunity,” Spence says.

Spence opened a second location in Preston Hollow Village amid the coronavirus pandemic. While it’s been challenging to get the word spread about the new restaurant, Dugg modified its system to cater to customers despite restrictions.

“We retooled the operation to focus on delivering food to people’s cars so they could minimize their contact with the outside world,” Spence says. “And of course, we have become maniacally focused on sanitation and safety.”

The restaurant is locally owned and operated and strives to be neighbors in its business areas.

“The people in Preston Hollow are proud of their neighborhood and support local businesses that offer great products and service,” Spence says.

The restaurant itself is a local business supporter.

“We rotate our beer, but right now we offer Dallas Blonde, Mosaic IPA, Blood & Honey, Shiner Bock and Local Buzz. We also buy wine from a local producer, Times Ten Cellars. Other local products we buy are our buns from Empire Bakery and ice cream from Henry’s that goes in our hand-spun shakes,” Spence says.

Spence aims to make the location a Preston Hollow staple by doing what they do best.

“No gimmicks. Just consistently good food served by nice people,” Spence says.

As for future locations around Dallas: “Nothing on the horizon, but we always have our eyes open for the next Dugg,” Spence says.