17 minute read
Business
NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING TIME CAPSULE: WHAT A SALES REP SAVED IN 1994
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CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: Ad design for La Cucina. Scott Wilson photographs the newspaper staff at Evelyn Bauer Wolff’s wedding reception. The advertising staff in early 1990s: Shelley Heldenfels, Kim Hurmis, Dorothy Wood, Lynn Timm, and Wolff. Timm, Wolff, and Hurmis, plus Terry, Katie, and Jamie Willson ride in the Park Cities Fourth of July Parade. An
illustration for Nails by JoAnn. The Fourth of July Coloring book premiers in 1992. (PHOTOS: COURTESY EVELYN BAUER WOLFF)
Iwas beginning my junior year studying journalism at SMU when the first issue of Park Cities People hit front lawns in Highland Park and University Park. It was a static, black and white world when I first sold classified advertising for the paper in the summer
EVELYN WOLFF of 1985. There were no fax machines, cell phones, or emails to transmit proofs. Color was at a premium, so a prominent headline, a simple layout, and a great graphic were essential.
While the ad staff was growing the list of advertisers, our advertisers were building their businesses. Forty years later, many of those original advertisers still turn to People Newspapers to reach existing and new customers in the communities we serve.
“The backbone of our first 10 years was retail and real estate advertising,” said senior account executive Kim Hurmis. She’s worked Lentz with Lentz Landscape Lighting. for People Newspapers for 39 years. “Today, Slowly but surely, I added retail clients: Kid’s many service businesses such as legal, medical, Kloset in Preston Center, Oak Lawn Mail and senior living look to us to reach the audi- Services, and Susan Brannian. ences we serve in the Park Cities and Preston Downtown Dallas began to redevelop Hollow.” with the building of When I left to do freelance work When Animal the Crescent Complex on its northern in 1994, I boxed up Kingdom opened on perimeter. The ad my business cards, calendars, ledger Mockingbird Lane, I staff began calling on the art galleries books, and a file signed the store up to and restaurants that folder with my fa vorite advertise - advertise and bought leased the second floor – Ron Hall ments from that my first pet, a pale Gallery, Ken Riney decade. I recently scoured through blue parakeet I named Antique Jewelry, Galerie Kornye, and that time capsule Maximillian de Bird. my favorite restauof my work history rant, La Cucina. and the evolution of advertising. Mike Renshaw and Harry Walker intro-
My classified ads reminded me of the duced Dallas and me to English Pine. Helen people I worked with over the years: Chuck Puckett opened the Everyday Gourmet on Green with C-Green Sprinklers, David Lovers Lane and gave us a taste of Morning Biggs with Diamond of Texas, and Dick Glory Muffins and gourmet takeaway.
When Animal Kingdom opened on Mockingbird Lane, I signed the store up to advertise and bought my first pet, a pale blue parakeet I named Maximillian de Bird – Max lived happily with me for 13 years.
When I packed my box, I never imagined that almost 25 years later, I would return to People Newspapers. It’s no longer a black and white world. The pages of Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People are alive with colorful advertisements, stories, and of course, people. We reach out daily with compelling stories on our website, through e-newsletters, and on social media.
It’s exciting to work with young designers like Melanie Thornton, Imani Lytle, and Mia Carrera. This digital world is second nature to them, and they make what our advertisers imagine come to life!
By Josh Hickman
Special Contributor
“We’re busier than ever,” said Madison Gardner, owner of Lawns of Dallas.
The Park Cities-centric business started almost 40 years ago by a young man simply mowing lawns.
After venturing into commercial work 15 years ago, the company attracted the attention of entrepreneur and Highland Park native Madison Gardner four years ago.
Looking for a business to purchase, Gardner approached then-owner Doug Smellage, who was already thinking of retirement, and six months later, a deal was struck.
In the ensuing three and half years, Lawns of Dallas has nearly tripled in size under Gardner’s leadership, expanding from around 50 employees to 135.
Now the owner of a full-service lawn and garden design, building, and maintenance company, Gardner observed, “It’s been quite a journey building a great team. It’s been a huge blessing.”
Gardner remembers Lawns of Dallas working around the neighborhood from his youthful days attending Bradfield Elementary and Highland Park High, “But I never imagined I would be running the company.”
How did COVID-19 affect his business?
“On the commercial side, we were absolutely decimated,” Gardner said. “In residential, we were affected, but overall it was pretty steady for us. We were able to keep everyone employed. That was a big goal during COVID.”
The pandemic also brought opportunities.
Madison Gardner says his Lawns of Dallas, serving the Park Cities and Preston Hollow, aims to provide homeowners a point of contact for seasonal color, mulch, tree trimming, and other
landscaping services. (PHOTOS: JOSH HICKMAN, COURTESY MADISON GARDNER)
“I think a lot of companies either scaled back or reduced their budgets or headcount,” he said. “I just decided as a company to really double-down. We even hired some great people who were let go from other companies.”
With 95% of the residential business in the Park Cities/Preston Hollow areas, Gardner said, “We’re really focused on just this area.
“Now we have a better team of experts in their field, whether its landscape design, construction teams, or account managers. For our clients, we try to be the point of contact for anything outside the home, whether its seasonal color, mulch, tree trimming, or whatever they need,” he said.
The lawn care industry has changed plenty in four decades.
“People were more willing to mow their own lawn (40 years ago), to be more handson,” Gardner observed. “Today, more and more people just want to pay someone to deal with it. They want their outdoor spaces to be just an extension of their living room or kitchen — simple, easy outdoor living. Everyone is so busy; life is more complicated; they just want to enjoy what they have.”
Lawns of Dallas offices at 8400 Ambassador Row in Dallas, (214-357-6522), a LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS:
• Think about investing in a smart water controller. They’re a lot better for the environment, and you save a lot of water. Although it’s a little more expensive upfront, it really does pay off. You don’t need to water your turf as much as most people think.
• Mulch in June and July. Not as many people do it as should. It keeps your beds and all your plants moist, helps retain water, and keeps the roots systems cool.
• Be patient on getting plants to replace those killed by the winter storm. It’s been difficult with demand, and prices have gone up a lot because of the scarcity of supply. Be open to new plant ideas, especially ones that are freezetolerant, so the damage will never happen again. Talk to an experienced horticulturist about new ideas.
Source: Madison Gardner
handful of miles from the neighborhoods served.
“It’s been a great opportunity to be part of a company that grew up in the same area we are now still serving,” Gardner said. “To have Lawns of Dallas serve in my own neighborhood, the Park Cities, has been very rewarding.”
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GOING
Royal Blue Grocery
Highland Park Village
The neighborhood grocery and specialty food shop is closing its Highland Park Village location after June 27 but hoping to open a new store nearby. (See below for what will fill that location in The Village).
Royal Blue's downtown Dallas stores — in Trammel Crow Center and The Mercantile — expect to rebrand to Berkley’s Market on July 1. A Berkley’s Market will open in Oak Cliff at 634 W Davis this summer.
NOW OPEN
Caffè Lavazza
NorthPark Center
The all-day café, the final piece of the 46,000-square-foot Eataly Dallas to open, serves as the Italian food emporium’s first-floor entrance. Two of the three levels have been open since December 2020. Café visitors can enjoy different menu offerings depending on the time of day.
Lele Sadoughi
Highland Park Village
The Dallas native opened the first storefront for her eponymous accessories brand, best known for their signature knotted, jeweled headbands.
Code Ninja
11661 Preston Road
The computer coding and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program offers children ages 4 to 14 the opportunity to learn to code while building video games.
Fairgrounds Coffee
4514 Cole Avenue
The menu includes craft coffee and tea, as well as breakfast and lunch items.
The RealReal
3120 Knox Street
The luxury resale store, the second of its kind in Texas after the opening of one in Austin, features such top designers as Gucci, Brunello Cucinelli, and Burberry and serves as a destination for those looking to sell their designer goods.
RH Dallas
3133 Knox Street
The design gallery with three levels and nearly 70,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space includes a glass-encased rooftop restaurant and wine bar that opens onto a park. The retail concept presents artistic installations of luxury home furnishings with spaces devoted to RH Interiors, RH Modern, and RH Outdoor and an interactive interior design firm and atelier.
COMING
Evereve
The Plaza at Preston Center
The women’s fashion boutique, expected to open in August, already has locations in in Fort Worth and Southlake. Royal Blue Grocery (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER) Caffè Lavazza (COURTESY PHOTO)
Fairgrounds Coffee (COURTESY KNOX STREET)
Sadelle's
Highland Park Village
The brunch restaurant known for "the best bagels in New York City" will open in the space occupied by Royal Blue Grocery later this year and will feature a cafe for people to grab coffee and bagels or breakfast tacos, and a grab-and-go component.
— Compiled by Rachel Snyder
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Gym Owner Finds Success Focusing On Fitness, Athleisure
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
“Everyone is in a remote setting, so slippers, pajamas – activewear doesn’t have to be worn just in a workout class. Better price
A local fitness studio and boutique points – we revamped our entire inventory to has found a recipe for growth during the be more affordable, and it’s actually created COVID-19 pandemic. growth that we could have never expected,”
SculptHouse in Inwood Village has seen she said. exponential growth of 231% in e-commerce On the fitness side, the studio launched activity since March virtual classes in the of last year. The bou- early days of the pantique and website demic. feature a wide variety Mason came up of shoes, athleisure with the idea for wear, and accessories. SculptHouse around
The boutique 2013 while working sought to boost its in New York City e-commerce presence shortly after gradueven before the pan- ating from the Unidemic in part by im- versity of Georgia. It proving the website. was fitting that the
“We had to build former model’s conon some infrastructure cept blended fashion that wasn’t there. We and fitness. did redo our website “I was in high – thank goodness – in school, and I was September of 2019 to looking at SMU to better focus on online Katherine Mason, owner of SculptHouse go to college there, because a huge goal fitness studio and boutique in Inwood Village, and I loved SMU, I for ours in 2020 was to says online sales at sculpthouse.com made love Dallas,” she said. have an e-commerce a difference for her business during the “I love how fashionpresence,” founder pandemic. (PHOTO: WHITNEY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY) able the people are, and CEO Katherine but I also love that Mason said. they have balance. People here love to eat,
Face masks and home workout gear like have a glass of wine or a margarita, work out, wrist and ankle weights and resistance bands shop, and enjoy their life, and I think that’s were strong sellers online in 2020, Mason said. what our brand is about.”
Dallas-HighlandPark 4264OakLawnAve Dallas,TX75219 (214)485-6006
SUNNY DAYS AHEAD!
Jerry Mooty Jr., an entrepreneur and attorney, added real estate to his list of skills when he joined Rogers Healy and The Healy Companies as the director of strategy.
In his first full year, he will close more than $25 million in transactions. Jerry was named Rookie of the Year at the Healy Companies and picked up accolades from Top10Dallas Magazine and Dallas Modern Luxury.
Jerry Mooty Real Estate Group, the team he leads as part of Rogers Healy and Associates, is a focused group of vibrant professionals making a big wave in the Dallas real estate market.
In 1998, Jerry helped found Mc- Jerry Mooty Jr.Cathern | Mooty, LLP and served as the managing partner until 2012. In 2012, he stepped down to pursue other business interests, including founding Blue Star Payments with the Jerry Jones family. That venture rebranded as Blue Star Sports, acquired 18 companies in 20 months, and sold in 2017.
How long have you been in real estate, and what led you to this career?
I have been a licensed agent since June 2020, but my legal background includes real estate transactions, home building, commercial development, and raw land acquisition for 10-plus years.
Now that you’ve been a real estate professional for a while, if you could go back in time and give yourself any advice, what would it be?
My passion is real estate, so if I could go back 20 years, I would have focused 100% of my time on what I enjoy a lot sooner. The professionals in real estate make each transaction so exciting, which allows me to negotiate, be creative, and bring success to my clients.
What is the best thing about being a real estate agent?
This is a very hot market, so the wave we are experiencing makes waking up every day ready to go. I love the fast pace of deals right now.
What is your outlook on the Dallas market?
I think DFW is going to continue to see positive growth for the next 2 to 3 years. The number of people & companies moving to Texas is mind-boggling, and we are one of the few areas in the country that can absorb that growth. New home and multi-family construction is still a little behind, and I don’t see the power players in that sector slowing down development, so I think that will continue to prop up pricing and demand.
Can you give us a fun fact about yourself?
I have a beautiful wife, Samantha, and two wonderful sons, Val and Luke Mooty. They think I am pretty funny.
– Staff Report
535 County Road 3992, Winnsboro
(PHOTOS: COURTESY DAVE PERRY MILLER REAL ESTATE)
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The name of the ranch comes from the natural springs feeding into the property via an acre pond and neighboring lake.
The 3,449 square foot home boasts three bedrooms and two baths and is loaded with personality and the modern amenities you‘d need to live more remotely — including a pool and spa. The property also includes multiple water wells, two 1,000-gallon propane tanks, and a backup generator that is capable of powering the entire house.
A 1,000-square-foot guest house is also under construction in conjunction with the standing storage structure.
