7 minute read
DINING
ON PRESTON CENTER, IN TERMS OF OVERALL DEVELOPMENT THERE, ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW THAT SHOULD GO DOWN IN PRESTON CENTER OR WHAT SHOULD BE HAPPENING THERE?
It goes back to vision. It’s not just about that garage. It’s not just about that intersection, or the Tollway or the through-traffic on Northwest Highway. I mean, all of these issues are complex in their own right. So we shouldn’t look at them individually and in a silo. We need to understand them. And that’s something I’m working on doing: understanding more in depth each of the aspects of this.
But again, what do we want this to be? There are a lot of people who have great desire to see the mobility around that area change, where you don’t have to always be in a car. There are some traffic issues. There are concerns about density. On the other hand, it’s a major intersection. And there’s an opportunity for growth there. When you look at different shopping centers or entertainment centers around the city, you look at that (Preston Center), and it’s a time capsule. So there’s tremendous opportunity. It’s just getting the vision of what it needs to be. And it is certainly on my mind. Is there any way to come up with a plan, or direct a plan, that everyone’s going to be happy with in Preston Center? Everyone will never be happy, as much as I would like that to be. And that’s because everyone’s going to have to take their dream, and then what’s pragmatic, and somewhere in the middle, we will strike the balance of what that will become. And this is not just property owners. It’s neighbors. So there are a lot of viewpoints to consider.
WHY DOES ANYBODY WANT TO BE A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER?
It seems like the most thankless job because you’re on the ground level with people and people’s problems on the ground level are ... literally on the ground level, and they want action. That’s true. There are a lot of phone calls about alleys and streets and trash pickup and, you know, just myriad concerns
But it’s also pretty cool. Aviation. Mounted police. The nuts and bolts of pothole repair. I really love it. I like seeing how it fits together. I like the thought of being in a role of working with my fellow council members and the mayor, to just keep our city going in a forward direction with regard to our citizenry, what the quality of life is like here. That can balance out some of the other stuff.
WE MENTIONED VICKERY MEADOW EARLIER. IDEALLY, WHAT SHOULD THAT NEIGHBORHOOD LOOK LIKE IN 10 OR 20 YEARS, ASSUMING THAT IT NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE ANYTHING?
Well, you have an incredible confluence of education, transit, and there’s two DART rail stations. Employment you’ve got in a NorthPark (Shopping Center) that’s very close, Shops at Park Lane. You’ve got health care at Presby, which is also a source of employment. You’ve got the SoPac Trail, Fair Oaks Park. You’ve got all these wonderful components that anybody would be looking for in creating some kind of live-workplay space. There is a large community of refugees being placed there, so growth could mean some displacement, and that’s got many people (feeling) very uncomfortable. I would love to strike a balance between how we preserve some affordable housing, while we also have the opportunity for workforce housing, to make it easier for police and teachers and administrative assistants, etc., to be able to live close to all of these great amenities. You know, there’s a (Vickery) Public Improvement District, and you know, they have a vision for the redevelopment of the area. And this is one of those areas where it needs a big vision and a balance. And I don’t have the answer for that right now. But there will be discussions around this.
FOR THE PEOPLE READING THIS INTERVIEW WHO WANT MORE INFORMATION FROM YOU, OR YOUR OFFICE, WHAT’S THE BEST WAY FOR THEM TO GET IT?
We’ll be doing at least a monthly email. That’s something I heard loud and clear that council member (Jennifer Staubach) Gates’ office did a great job on, and I want to continue that and our Facebook page. So those are two quick ways to get the word out. But I will also be communicating to the neighborhood leaders so that they can push it out through an email that folks might actually open because they feel like it has information on trash pickup or something else going on in the neighborhood. And then, of course, through channels such as yours. You can reach Willis through her City Hall assistants: Claire Noble (claire.noble@dallascityhall. com) or Alexandra Heller-Relayze (alexandra.relayze@dallascityhall. com) or visit her City Hall website at City Council District 13 (dallascityhall.com).
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WINE ABOUT IT
Trova Wine + Market brings fresh flavors and unique wines to Preston Plaza
Story by JEHADU ABSHIRO | Photography by JESSICA TURNER
Trova’s wine market features wines from around the globe. The by the glass menu offers 22 varieties.
IN NEED OF A WINE PROFESSIONAL FOR A PRIVATE FIVE-COURSE DINNER? Trova Wine + Market will set that up. A guided wine tasting? Christmas gifts packaged and prepared for pick-up? Trova can do that, too. Think of it as wine for all in Preston Plaza.
“There’s a lot of purposes that we can serve. There’s probably things that I haven’t even thought of that we could do for people,” Trova owner Michelle Bonds says. “I’d love for people to just check us out and think of other ways that they utilize and have wine in their lives and see if we can fill that gap for them.”
Trova opened July 16, 2020, pandemic be damned, after three years of planning. Bonds, 37, started working out a business plan while she was still at Plano-based Yum.
“I started looking for real estate and then it just snowballed from there,” Bonds says.
After visiting Tootsies and a few other shops in the Plaza, Bonds’ mother-in-law wanted a glass of wine. Il Bracco wasn’t open yet and True Food was under construction.
“I thought, man, this shopping center needs a wine bar. And so whenever the time came, I looked here because the traffic’s already there,” she says. “The stars just aligned for here.”
It worked.
Muchaco or Ill Bracco will send hungry customers to Trova when the wait is too long or they’re overcapacity. After a year, there’s a slew of regulars who drop by, and the Trova staff already has their order.
Trova offers small plates, salads and sandwiches. The rotating, seasonal desserts are the brainchild of pastry chef Stephanie Vivino, former chef de partie of cronut fame Dominique Ansel Bakery. The curated wine menu features wines from all over, but on the condition that you can’t walk into a Tom Thumb or a Total Wine and find it. A French chardonnay, André Dezat, is the neighborhood favorite.
“If you can get it everywhere, why would you come here?” Bonds says. “There are so many super good producers that make smaller batch. And they just
