Lake Highlands Advocate

10/15/2025

Lake Highlands’ dining scene saw modest growth in the early 2000s. ⁠
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In 2001, the Zhuta family opened Tony’s Pizza and Pasta on Northwest Highway. Twenty-four years later, the family establishment is a neighborhood institution beloved for its low prices and casual atmosphere.⁠
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Another victory came in 2006 when a group of Lake Highlands neighbors, including current District 10 council member Kathy Stewart, opened Highlands Cafe at Walnut Hill-Audelia. Between that, the debut of Mi Cocina and Nancy and Robert Baker’s opening of White Rock Coffee on Northwest Highway, Lake Highlands was starting to get back on track.⁠
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Throughout the early 2010s, dining options came and went. The Zhuta family gave the neighborhood a spot to watch sports with Go 4 It Sports Grill, and a group of White Rock Valley neighbors opened Atomic Pie at Walnut Hill-Audelia. Early risers also gained a new stop in 2011 when Jose Ramirez bought Divine Coffee Shop and reopened it as JJ’s Cafe, bringing migas and huevos rancheros to Northlake Center.⁠

And by the end of the decade, modest growth turned into a veritable renaissance as linen tablecloths and imported wine finally made their way into the neighborhood. To learn more about the evolution of the neighborhood's dining scene, click the link below to read part 2 of our three-part look back on Lake Highlands' foodie history.
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https://lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2025/10/01/lake-highlands-dining-evolution/

Pie

10/15/2025

Johnson will likely make his regular season debut on Oct. 22 against the Bucks.

Tre Johnson followed up on a mixed NBA Preseason Debut Monday with a 10-point performance as Washington defeated the Knicks away from home. Tre Johnson with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Draft Day. Courtesy of Washington Wizards. The former Lake Highlands standout made

10/15/2025

The park is expected to bring a green space within a ten minute walk for over 2,000 neighbors in the northern Audelia Road neighborhood. Work on the project is expected to be mostly completed by early 2026.

Construction crews broke ground on the Bushmills Road park site Thursday morning. Photo courtesy of Trust for Public Land The project is part of the wider Dallas Greening Initiative, a collaborative effort between the City of Dallas and the Trust for Public Land,

10/14/2025

The Wildcats will take on Berkner as the away team at Wildcat-Ram Stadium this Friday in a matchup that may well determine the UIL District 7-6A championship.

Lake Highlands trounced Jesuit Dallas 52-21 Friday night en route to a third straight win over the Rangers. Christian Rhodes. Photo courtesy of Mike Duhon Photography. The Wildcats (5-1, 3-0) have won five in a row since a 34-37

10/14/2025

Mike Land, North Texas Director of Texas Against Fentanyl, will speak at Dallas Elks Lodge #71 about the loss of his beloved son and share strategies for stemming the fentanyl crisis.

Jenn Brown Coaching is teaming up with Elks Lodge 71 to present a critical discussion about the fentanyl crisis. They’ll host Mike Land, devoted father and advocate, who lost his son Preston to fentanyl poisoning and has dedicated his life to preventing other families from experiencing the same tr...

10/13/2025

In 2021 and 2022, as deputy superintendent, current Richardson ISD Superintendent Tabitha Branum watched as Board of Trustees President Karen Clardy and then Superintendent Jeannie Stone resigned during the peak of debates over library materials and parental rights. Since Branum's permanent promotion, she's grappled with multiple budget deficits, declining enrollment, four school closures in 2024 and an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for alleged violations of the state’s transgender policy.⁠
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But even after a less-than-ideal start to her tenure, Branum is still remarkably warm and enthusiastic as she sits across the table. She makes jokes about the district’s yearly motto, wears friendship bracelets in her executive suite and, somehow, still finds a way to remain hopeful following a difficult summer.⁠
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"I find hope in what is happening in our buildings every single day. For me, that’s where my hope is. You know that in the end, our 36,309 kids as of today, they’re counting on us. They need us to be the very best. They need us to believe that dreams can be possible. And so as long as our kids are dreaming big, then we’re going to continue to dream big, and we’re going to continue to have hope," Branum says.⁠

https://lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2025/10/01/tabitha-branum-dreaming-big/
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📷️: ⁠

Correction: Earlier online and print versions of this story incorrectly stated RISD was sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over alleged athletic violations. While Texas Attorney General's office did indeed open an investigation, a lawsuit was never filed. It may be a tough climate for Texas p...

10/13/2025

Dallas Elks Lodge #71 will host a Holiday Market, with various small businesses offering their unique wares.

Metro Creative Images The Dallas Elks Lodge will host a Holiday Market in November, with various small businesses offering their unique wares. Vendors are invited to sign up online here. Elks Lodge #71 is known in Lake Highlands and East Dallas as a

10/13/2025

The annual Community Tailgate Party precedes the Red Out Game between LHHS and Berkner and the battle for naming rights at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. https://lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2025/10/13/annual-tailgate-party/

10/10/2025

“Football has been a huge part of my life,” Lake Highlands High School Football Head Coach and Athletic Coordinator Cory Campbell says. “Growing up in a small town, whatever you do, the town supports. And I was fortunate to be on some really, really good high school football teams. And, at the end of the day, it just helped mold me and help grow me up.”⁠
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Growing up as a coach’s son in rural Archer City, Texas, much of Campbell’s early life revolved around football. He spent his early years on sidelines and in locker rooms. In high school, he played quarterback for three years in a town where he says Friday night lights were everything.⁠
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Campbell recently moved his wife and three children to Lake Highlands after years of commuting. He says he enjoys our community, which reminds him of his small town roots.⁠
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In 2023, Campbell was named the school’s head football coach and athletic coordinator. The team met immediate success, winning the UIL District 7-6A Championship in his first season as head coach with Campbell still calling plays. After setting that standard in 2023, Lake Highlands finished the 2024 season without a single loss in district play, sealing back-to-back district titles for LHHS for the first time in recent memory.⁠
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“It’s not something that’s on a T-shirt. It’s not something that’s hanging on a banner. Still, when he thinks of culture, two words come to mind: relationships and accountability,” Campbell says.⁠
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https://lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2025/10/01/eyes-on-friday-cory-campbell/
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📷️: Mike Duhon⁠

Growing up as a coach’s son in rural Archer City, Texas, much of Lake Highlands High School Football Head Coach and Athletic Coordinator Cory Campbell’s early life revolved around football. He spent his early years on sidelines and in locker rooms. In high school, he played quarterback for three...

10/09/2025

Live bands will perform beginning at noon on Saturday.

Hausfest will bring live music, a dachshund parade and plenty of beer to Vector Brewing next weekend as it returns for a sixth year. Vector Brewing is hosting its third annual

10/09/2025

Founded in 1866 on a hilltop of vast prairie, McCree Cemetery now sits hidden behind the AT&T data center and serves as the final resting place of members of many of our community’s founding families. https://lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2025/10/09/mccree-cemetery-tour/

10/08/2025

Highland Meadows neighbor Adam Cowdin is bringing the game of golf indoors this October with his new indoor golf simulator business, Fairway Fix. The new business will occupy a 2,500 square-foot space next to Carlos Machado Jiu Jitsu on the second floor of Northview Plaza. He picked the location due to the explosive growth seen in the area in recent years and a perceived lack in entertainment options.⁠
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A full round of golf typically clocks in at around four hours and can be taxing — especially in the Texas heat. Now, Cowdin says, aspiring golf players in our neighborhood will have a place to hone their skills without the commitment.⁠
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“I’d love for there to be families coming in here and doing either after school time or, family game night,” he says. “I’d love for dads’ groups to come in here and be able to watch sports games and hit balls and play cards or dominoes.” Neighbors will be able to utilize the space through a membership model, with two tiers available.⁠
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https://lakehighlands.advocatemag.com/2025/10/01/fairway-fix/

# golfsimulator