Hillcrest Village, a long-neglected shopping center on the edge of Richardson, has been in the news lately as the site of a new community park billed by some as a “mini Klyde Warren park.”
But the revitalization of the center was already off to a good start when LADA opened there last fall.
The fine-casual restaurant with a menu centered on enchiladas is chef Michael Ehlert’s first turn in an owner-operator role. And in a way, it’s a culmination of the most important things Ehlert has achieved in his career, which has involved a series of executive roles in high-profile Dallas restaurants.
A ‘mini Klyde Warren Park’ in Far North Dallas will welcome new restaurants in 2021
The drab development at Hillcrest Village is getting a major facelift.
Shelby Presser, left, and Terri Hankins enjoy a pair of beverages after having lunch at Lada, the only open restaurant so far facing the park at Hillcrest Village in Far North Dallas. In 2021, the area behind the tree will become a 1.5-acre green space with a half-dozen restaurants with patios.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
Today, the northwest corner of Hillcrest and Arapaho roads in Far North Dallas is a construction zone flanked by largely vacant storefronts. But by spring, developer David Sacher says he wants “to give the neighborhood its neighborhood village back,” with a half dozen restaurants opening out onto a 1.5-acre city-owned park that has gotten the nickname “a mini Klyde Warren Park.”