Many of us just stopped driving down Lower Greenville in 2016. More than a year of construction work to improve the pocked roads made it a traffic nightmare that was best avoided. More and more drivers headed to Skillman or Ross to skip the headache.
“We’ve heard so many neighbors say that,” says Sammy Mandell, owner of Greenville Avenue Pizza Company (GAP Co.).
As a member of the Lowest Greenville Collective, Mandell helped create “Experience Lowest Greenville,” a day of events this Saturday meant to showcase the street and its businesses in a new way. More than 20 neighborhood spots will be offering unique experiences, and the best part is, most of them are free. Want to screen print your own shirt? Head to Bullzerk. Got a sweet tooth? Katherine Clapner of Dude Sweet Chocolate will host chocolate pairings while talking treats during three classes throughout the day (noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.).
“We wanted to do something totally different, some that gave people an experience,” Mandell says. “With most of these, the owner themselves will be doing the experience. That’s really rare, to get to learn from Brooks [Anderson] from Rapscallion or Katherine [Clapner] over at Dude Sweet.”
Some classes, like learning to shuck oysters with Anderson, do have a fee attached ($50 which includes seven oysters, a shucking knife, gloves and a drink). Many also are limited to a certain number of participants, so registration is required to secure your spot. Events will take place from 8 a.m Saturday till 2 a.m. on Sunday (see the full schedule here, including how to sign up for selective classes).

​For full Advocate Article CLICK HERE

The long-awaited Alamo Drafthouse and surrounding restaurants at Skillman-Abrams is becoming a reality.
That flurry of activity you may have noticed at the shopping center surrounding the old Tom Thumb (the even older Simon David) is the work of landlord, Retail Plazas, Inc. (RPI). The company’s contractors, which moved onsite this week, are beginning redevelopment of the center, which they are renaming Creekside.
“It’s not always the case that landlords and neighborhoods work this well together,” laughed Trey Hodge, VP of RPI as we stood in the center’s parking lot watching construction vehicles and work crews buzz about, “but lots of people from around here have contacted me to say they are excited about what’s coming. It’s been blighted and ugly for some time, and we get that. Neighbors want the Alamo Drafthouse, they want the new restaurants, and they are going to get them.”
RPI began refurbishment last week, working to get the façade ready for Alamo to begin “inside work” this week.
“The optimists say Alamo will be ready to open in four months,” said Hodge, laughing again. “The pessimists say it will be six. We will see.”
While Advocate readers in both East Dallas and Lake Highlands have debated in which neighborhood this project is located, movie buffs to the north and south will have a new option for cinema, not to mention the restaurant possibilities, coming soon.

​Article courtesy of Lakewood Advocate, written by Carol Toler

It's not about what it is, it’s about what it can become,” says the Lorax, Dr. Seuss’s sneakily radical environmentalist, disguised as a children’s book character. In much the same way that the Lorax saw seeds as trees, East Dallas artist Carrie Sharp sees rocks as canvas for art.
Sharp, who is entirely self-taught, had been quietly painting and selling her rocks for a few years when she decided to up the ante. She posted plans for her first-ever “rock hunt” last Halloween on the “Lakewood, Dallas” Facebook page.
After delicately detailing rocks with hand-painted “Peanuts” comic characters, grinning pumpkins and other spooky designs, she walked the blocks, hiding them for neighborhood children (and art-loving adults) to find. Parents showed their gratitude by posting photos of their grinning kids clutching rocks emblazoned with Snoopy and witches.
She’s planning another hunt, appropriately scheduled around Easter — but more on that later.
Sharp’s path to the paintbrush was winding and unexpected.
Artist Carrie Sharp started on canvas and incorporated rock painting into her pallette. The painter spends about an hour painting each rock, and hides them in local parks for children to find. (Photo by Rasy Ran)While she grew up in Rockwall, most of her weekends were spent at White Rock Lake with family and friends. When she married Little Forest Hills resident Matt Sharp 28 years ago, they made East Dallas their home. College came in fits and starts, but Carrie Sharp earned an associate’s degree in accounting. “Of all things,” she laughs. “I never used it.”

For full Advocate article CLICK HERE

​University Meadows enjoys close proximity to a number of DISD, parochial and private schools.  The University Meadows Neighborhood Association thought it would be fun to spotlight some of the terrific kids in our neighborhood. 
Lauren Campagna, a senior at Bishop Lynch High School and daughter of Kammie and John (UMNA board Treasurer), is one of two Campagna kids. Her brother, Joe, is a sophomore at Jesuit. 
As part of her the Girl Scout Gold Award (the highest achievement in Girl Scouting) project, Lauren created Blankets that Benefit to give back to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and provide children comfort and warmth during their hospital stay.  With volunteers and support from her community, Lauren managed the creation and donation of more than 130 blankets and is planning quarterly deliveries. In her own words:  “Scottish Rite hospital holds a very special place in my heart because I became a patient at the age of two.  I enjoy giving back to the hospital and Blankets that Benefit is a sustainable project that will continue to give blankets to the hospital in the future.”  To support Lauren’s Blankets that Benefit, contact her mom at [email protected].

Lauren plays on the Bishop Lynch Varsity Golf Team.  She finished 6th in the 2016 Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools -TAPPS- State Championship, and was accepted to play college golf next year at The University of Texas at Dallas.  She has a 3.74 GPA, and is active in several school organizations and community service activities.  Lauren is an excellent student, active in several school and community organizations, and well-known on the babysitting circuit…. Way to go Lauren –
 
Have a story about happenings in the neighborhood?  Submit here.  ​

After six-plus years, Unrefined Bakery, the gluten-free sweets purveyor, is closing its original location on Buckner Boulevard and moving to a surprising new address. The new shop will be at 6464 E. Northwest Hwy., better known as Medallion Center, and will open in mid-March.
This is the same center that's home to the un-super Target store, and which is undergoing a renovation. The bakery will go into the same section as Subway and Fish Bone Grill.
"It's the sixth store, but it will be the fifth, since we are closing our original location," says Taylor Nicholson, who founded Unrefined with her mother, Anne Hoyt. The other four outlets are in Frisco, Rockwall, and Dallas, with locations on Greenville Avenue and in Preston Center.
The Buckner Boulevard store will shutter on March 22. The closure is the result of many factors, she says.

For full Culture Map story CLICK HERE

If you like the Dallas Farmers Market, you’re sure to love The Boho Market — a unique event where visitors can shop a handful of the best specialty vendors alongside all the usual suspects. This special Farmers Market addition will offer a fun, complimentary photo booth, shopping, music, games, food, and drinks.  Please bring a new or gently used book benefiting The Boho Book House.
​
Where
Dallas Farmers Market
The Shed, an open-air pavilion
920 S Harwood St.
When
Saturday and Sunday, March 25-26
10 am-5 pm
To know
Admission is complimentary and open to the public
Parking is complimentary 

Post compliments of Culture Map

Developer Southern Land Company sought public input before bringing its six-story, high-density retail/apartment proposal on Oram to the city. While City Councilman Philip Kingston said recently he has not yet been approached by the principals on the project, neighbors got an early look at the new plans last week.
The proposal would change the skyline of Lakewood, bringing the towering building where the one-story, 6,200-square-foot Teter’s Faucet Part has sat since 1947. The new plans include a retail section on the first floor topped with five stories of residential units, 140 in total at about 975-square-feet a piece. That would mean an uptick in density, current zoning allows for a floor area ratio of 1.5:1, while this project seeks to increase that to 3.45:1.

An architectural rendering of the proposed six-story building at 6337 Oram.Two stories of underground parking would support the building, although only one parking stall is provided per unit and the total number of spots has not yet been decided. There would also be “head-in parking” for shoppers on Oram. In total, the project is predicted to bring 2,682 cars per day coming and going on the quiet street. Southern Land Company would also add sidewalks, crosswalks and landscaping to improve walkability around the project.

To read the full Advocate article CLICK HERE.

A pair of restaurant vets whose reign dates back to the '90s have a new place in the works. Called José, it's a Mexican restaurant going in a former dry cleaning business near Lovers Lane and Inwood Road.
The street address is 4931 W. Lovers Ln., a rare stand-alone building that was for many years Foster Cleaners. The restaurant comes from WoodHouse, founded by brothers Brady and Brandt Wood, whose current lineup of projects include the Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival and the Coyote Drive-In. 
José will serve contemporary Mexican-inspired cuisine with a Guadalajaran focus. The menu will feature Jalisco-inspired dishes celebrating Mexican flavors and traditions, using fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Brady Wood says that the opening is targeted for April, and the menu is still not finalized. But just about every online citation of Jalisco-style food mentions pozole, the hominy soup; goat stew; and tortas ahogadas, the "drowned" pork sandwich stuffed with pork and drenched in salsa that is the signature dish of Guadalajara.
Jalisco is also the home of tequila, so there'll be a mixology program, with artisanal spirits, highlighted by an extensive collection of tequilas and mezcals discovered during multiple trips to Tequila and Oaxaca. If you're thinking regular old frozen margaritas and swirls, think again.
The interior is going to be serious, as nearly every furnishing has been procured from Cerámica Suro, the boutique ceramics factory in Guadalajara owned by José Noe Suro. From hand-painted custom-designed plates to platters, tiles, fixtures, and furniture, all have been specially designed and produced for José in Guadalajara.

To see full Culture Map article CLICK HERE

Retail closed but biweekly Co-Op starts 3/9!
Our retail store is no longer open but because we have short term access to our space at 3614 Greenville Ave (using the kitchen to make our amazing bone broth), we are offering a bi-weekly local pick up CoOp for some of our favorite items (like our addictive chicken meatballs, granola, bone broth, elderberry syrup, meats and more)!
Click here to browse our online store, place your orders by Saturday 3/5 5pm and pick up all orders Thursday 3/9 430-630pm.  Order and pick up times are strict so don't be late!   
We hope y'all order with us so we can see your happy faces next week.  We would love to see you!

What else is happening...
Many of you have become fans of our Green Grocer Bone Broth and our  Cassie Green Health Elderberry Syrup.  These two delicious and immuno-supportive products are sold online as well as in several DFW area stores (and we can ship broth as well nationwide).  Check the links for "Where to Buy" pages coming soon.
We will continue our Bi-Weekly Meat Share program (still pickup at the Greenville Ave location every other Thursday 430-630pm until further notice).  Please follow up on Facebook or Instagram (as well as this newsletter) in order to keep updated on that program.