Lakewood - East Dallas Advocate

12/24/2025

The FaLaLa Lakewood broke records this year by raising over $100,000 in toy and cash donations, sponsorships, and merchandise sales:

Families donate gifts during this year's FaLaLa Lakewood toy drive. Photo courtesy Liz Labianca Photography. The FaLaLa Lakewood toy drive broke records this year by raising over $100,000 in toy and cash donations, sponsorships, and merchandise sales. The annual

12/23/2025

The birds are back and may have established a new nest:

Nick and Nora, the bald eagles of White Rock Lake, have had a busy couple of months.

12/23/2025

Last minute shopping? Find something for every type of somebody in your life in our gift guide, highlighting local businesses.

Bullzerk
White Rock Art Print $20

The Planting Hand
Terrarium Planting Party $72

Central Market
"Thai Food and Travel with Chef Nikky" $42
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Get the full gift guide:
https://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2025-east-dallas-gift-guide/

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12/22/2025

Only 9 days left of our end-of-year campaign! If you haven’t had the chance to give yet — or if you’re inspired to strengthen local journalism even further — your support will continue to make a meaningful impact.

And remember, if you donate $85 or more, you’ll receive our limited-edition hand-painted holiday ornament in a velvet box with a display stand, as our heartfelt thank-you. 🎁
https://mtyc.co/w3bjhg

12/20/2025

STRONG Highland Park is under construction between Bath and Body Works and One Medical and is moving toward an expected February opening:

Screenshot from STRONG Pilates' website. STRONG Pilates is coming to Mockingbird Station. STRONG Highland Park is under construction between Bath and Body Works and One Medical and is moving toward an expected February opening. This location is owned by major

12/20/2025

High Fives’ exact closing date is uncertain. It is expected to stay open on days when Texas Tech University football games are happening:

Old photo of High Fives and the now-closed bar The Whippersnapper. Photography by Renee Umsted. High Fives on Henderson Avenue is closing in January after celebrating its 10-year anniversary in August. According to The Dallas Morning News,

12/20/2025

The festivities include drinking warm glühwein (mulled wine) or hot chocolate and checking out Christmas lights in Lakewood:

Courtesy photo. Opa’s Glühwein Benefit is coming back for its sixth year in Lakewood this Saturday. The benefit started as a small neighborhood event during the pandemic by Dr. Hubert Zajicek and his family “to foster connection and generosity during a challenging time,” according

12/19/2025

A $1.6 million misunderstanding over the Belmont and north Fitzhugh property that houses Strangeways, a dive bar with an eclectic menu, became more than a year-long legal battle. A long legal fight, what owner Rosie Ildemaro calls an “expensively sad situation.” ⁠
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Strangeways owners and siblings Eric Sanchez and Ildemaro opened the bar in August 2011. In 2023, the Heidari brothers, Pasha and Sina, known for St. Martin’s and Urbano Cafe, sought to buy the property from landlord Ana M. Martinez for $1.6 million, according to their commercial contract. ⁠
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More than 60 documents were filed in the dispute. Ildemaro summarizes a lot of the situration saying, “Our landlord had to come up here to let the buyer’s bank in to do a walk through of the building, so [Sanchez] lets them in and [Ana M. Martinez], our landlord, runs into my brother, and she says in a very sweet way, because we have a really good relationship, ‘Why didn’t you want to buy the building?’ And that’s when Eric’s jaw dropped. He’s like, ‘But you decided not to sell to us. We wanted to. Rosie has all the text messages.’ And that’s when her jaw drops, too, and she’s like, ‘No, no, no, this is what I was told.”⁠
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All parties were gearing up for trial by submitting witness and exhibit lists (and objecting to each other’s lists), but then they agreed to settle the matter rather than go to trial in January of this year. They requested that the case be dismissed with prejudice, meaning the same claim cannot be refiled. The Heidaris appear to be operating business as usual and recently opened a new cocktail bar by Urbano Cafe. Strangeways’ owners retained their bar. And that property still sold for $1.6 million.⁠
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https://lakewood.advocatemag.com/strangeways-survived-lawsuit/
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📷️: ⁠

A $1.6 million misunderstanding. That’s what an over-year long fight for ownership of the property near Belmont and north Fitzhugh Avenues, where Strangeways is, boiled down to. Strangeways owners and siblings Eric Sanchez and Rosie Ildemaro opened the bar in August 2011. Strangeways, named after ...

12/19/2025

Only 12 days left of our end-of-year campaign! If you haven’t had the chance to give yet — or if you’re inspired to strengthen local journalism even further — your support will continue to make a meaningful impact.

And remember, if you donate $85 or more, you’ll receive our limited-edition hand-painted holiday ornament in a velvet box with a display stand, as our heartfelt thank-you. 🎁
https://mtyc.co/w3bjhg