by Darren Dattalo
In June of 2006, Lower Greenville residents were horrified to see one of three Greenville Ave landmarks go up in flames when the historic Arcadia Theater burned down after a fire started in an adjacent restaurant. Then in 2010, a second landmark was lost when the strip that housed Terilli’s original location and the Greenville Ave Bar and Grill also burned. GBG was the oldest bar in Dallas at the time. Fortunately, the last of the landmarks, The Granada Theater, is in very good hands and is thriving.
After a long wait, both of these burned-out locations will be coming back to life this summer. In completely opposite incarnations: The old Terrilli’s strip is being rebuilt to resemble its old self in many details. Thankfully, they were able to repair and preserve the original façade of the building (and keep their ADA exemptions intact at the same time.) But the Arcadia site, which was bulldozed and left vacant for years is coming back as something completely different: a food truck court and pavilion concept, or as some jokingly refer to it, the Lowest Greenville Trailer Park or “Truckateria”.
The Trailer Park concept will be a first in Dallas, although there are several in Austin which are wildly popular. Being the first such development in Dallas meant quite a lot of zoning rules had to be created from scratch. Fortunately, neighborhood friendly developer Madison Partners was behind the whole thing, so the new zoning should respect the surrounding neighborhood. Now that the city-red-tape hurdle has been passed, Madison Partner is ready to begin construction on the site. They will build an outdoor pavilion capable of seating up to 200 people, about half of which will be covered. Landscaping and common plumbing will comprise most of the additional development, then six AirStream trailers will be bolted to the ground and finished out as food service stations. One additional trailer will serve beer and wine. Each truck will be individually operated by a different vendor serving a different product.
But don’t worry, these trucks will not be serving corny dogs and fried twinkies. The current plan is to target celebrity chefs looking to seek a different market. Imagine Dean Ferring or Steven Pyles designing a menu of reasonably priced street food. In a sneak preview, TrailerCakes has shown up on the lot a couple of times. Think of Sprinkles on wheels, but better. The developer tells us that they hope to have the trucks open for lunch as well. Between both Terrilli’s and the Lowest Greenville Trailer Park opening soon and the City of Dallas’ $1.2M investment in the street improvements, Greenville Avenue should be rockin’ and rollin’ in no time!
