Highland Park Cafeteria (1200 N. Buckner, 214.324.5000) now offers online pre-order options for guests of the Dallas Arboretum’s Concerts in the Garden series (8525 Garland, 214.515.6500). Concert-goers can choose from freshly made offerings including cookies, sandwiches, chips/guacamole, gourmet cheese trays, salads, hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, beverages and more when ordering at highlandparkcafeteria.com. All orders must be received by 2 p.m. prior to the concert. At the event, meals are ready for pick-up at the Highland Park Cafeteria van, always located next to the Martin Rutchik Concert Stage and Lawn, as early as 6 p.m. when gates open. Additionally, the van is always stocked with menu items available for purchase on-site, such as made-to-order smoothies for $4.
Matt Tobin, East Dallas resident and owner of Vickery Park, hopes to open his latest concept, Goodfriend, later this month. Located next door to Good 2 Go Taco on Peavy, Goodfriend will bridge the gap between family-friendly restaurant and bar — it will even have high chairs. “My wife and I live in the area, and we kept saying that we wished there was a kid-friendly neighborhood place where we could have some food and drinks and not have to go to a Chili’s or Applebees,” Tobin says. So he’s opening one. Goodfriend’s menu will have 10 signature burgers, each paired with a draft beer, plus a reuben and other artisan sandwiches. The atmosphere will take a tip from Tobin’s good friends — pun intended — at The Old Monk and feature wood paneling, old church pews made into banquettes and other pieces made from reclaimed wood. Tobin hopes that Goodfriend and Chef Marc Cassel’s recently announced beach food restaurant next door, called Peavy Road, will start a chain reaction in the area. “I can’t name names, but I know of at least six to seven restaurateurs looking at the Casa Linda area right now,” Tobin says.
White Rock Yoga Center has opened in the Buckner-Northcliff shopping center, the same complex that houses Gold’s Gym, the Krav Maga studio, Green Spot and the White Rock Local Market. The center offers power yoga, prenatal and “Mommy and Me” classes.
Aboca’s Italian Grill
The Richardson-based Italian restaurant Aboca’s Italian Grill (10455 N. Central, 214.346.1700) has opened a second location at the northwest corner of Meadow and Central. The new location features Italian fare. “Everything is made fresh here, from the sauces to the crepes,” co-general manager Chris Clark says. “People love our homemade desserts — chocolate cake, tiramisu, strawberry cake, even our cheesecake is made in-house with an Oreo crust.” Menu highlights include Chicken Aboca, a pan-seared chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto, basil and provolone in a spinach cream sauce. Aboca’s is BYOB with a $1 glass fee.
L’Acqua Spa Lounge (8060 Park, 214.365.8060) recently opened at The Shops at Park Lane. The salon offers nail services for adults and children, as well as face and body waxing, facials, massages, sunless tanning and lash services.
It has been rumored that Primo’s founder and Hully & Mo co-owner Eddie Cervantes has been scouting out shopping centers at Walnut Hill and Audelia for a possible new Tex-Mex concept. Chris Schwab at Atomic Pie (9660 Audelia, 214.553.5733) says, “Yes, Eddie has spent a lot of time between Atomic Pie and Offshores Nextdoor [9660 Audelia, 214.503.1012] recently, and he has expressed interest in the spaces near us and over by Highlands Café [9661 Audelia, 214.349.2233].”
In other Walnut Hill-Audelia news, it seems everyone is searching for more clarity about what’s in store for the remaining retail stores at Lake Highlands Plaza (9661 Audelia) once the residential development begins in the next couple of months. As to what stays and what goes at the intersection’s southwest corner, Mark Dann of Highland Classic Homes (7475 Skillman, 972.679.9295, highlandclassichomes.com) says the 7-Eleven will stay, and “they will be leaving the bank building and looking for local banks … leaving My Office, the vet clinic and the former florist space and, of course, the strip that holds Highland’s Café and T. Hee. Everything else will be gone.”
Meg Robinson of property owner Willingham Property Co. says: “Currently there are no specific plans for improvements to the Lake Highlands Plaza shopping center. The owners will consider options for the remaining retail area after the residential lot development has been completed.” David Farris of T. Hee Greetings & Gifts (9661 Audelia, 214.747.5800) says he was told that the tall, pole sign at the center will be changed, but that those are the only plans for now. Kathy Stewart, co-owner of Highlands Café, says she would like to see a new façade, lower signage, more pedestrian-friendly spaces, lower and more updated lighting and more landscaping. Stewart says the center, built in the 1960s, hasn’t been updated since the ’80s. “Our commitment to this intersection dates back 10 years or more,” says Stewart and co-owner Anita Siegers, via email. “We began by ‘adopting the corner’ through volunteer work with the LHAIA. When given the opportunity to open a business at the intersection, we jumped in, and now own and operate Highlands Café. So as Lake Highlands residents and business owners, we are disappointed Jerry Allen and the TIF Board did not require the developer and owner of Lake Highlands Plaza to make a commitment to update the buildings in the shopping center. The purpose of these TIF funds is to incentivize developers to redevelop our outdated properties. We fear we have missed the opportunity to incentivize this developer.”
As for the residential side of the project, Dann says the 17 lots will be divided up between Highlands Classic Homes and two or three other builders, inlcuding Nobility Homes (972.359.1700) and New Leaf Construction (9601 White Rock, 214.642.4621, dallasremodelingandrealty.com) and possibly another. According to Dann, the L-shaped, dual-cul de sac development will have controlled architecture with the majority of houses in brick or stone. “It will be traditional … maybe some Craftsman or country French looks,” Dann says. The average square footage of the lots will fall somewhere around 9,000, while the expected average home price will be near $700,000. “Of course, these are averages,” Dann says. “Expect to see homes that are less and more than this in price and square footage.”
