“Funkytown” is the apt alias for Little Forest Hills, the artist-inhabited community where neighbor Marukh Hall just opened up a cozy café for business. And, fittingly, “funky” will likely be the first word that comes to mind when you pull up to this imaginative eatery.
Hall’s place — located inside a small, commercially zoned pocket of the area — is unusual, by most standards. Scattered about the fenced-in yard of a home built sometime in the 1940s or 50s are stone tables (some holding a tattered board game or two), sculptures, paintings, a pinkish antique bicycle and a large sign advertising “free yoga classes every 2nd Saturday of the month”.
Mid-morning visitors are greeted by the hazel-nutty smells of brewing coffees and lunch cooking in the oven — that might include smothered pork chops prepared by 25-year veteran chef Patrick Gay — and also by the warm smile and handshake of Hall, who insists that while Another Byte internet café might seem a little incongruous here in Dallas, similar businesses are successful in cities such as Austin and others in the Northeast.
“We’ve traveled to other parts of the country and seen that it’s not uncommon for people to have businesses inside homes,” Hall says. “I want this to be an extension of our neighbors’ homes and yards.”
Indeed, setting foot inside the café feels like entering the home of an old friend — menu selections are scribbled on a white board and consist of traditional Southern fare (comfort food, if you will). Couches, armchairs and kitschy kitchen tables offer indoor seating, and broadband wireless internet is there for the laptop-laden.
Adding to the amicable feel is the fact that Hall and husband Steve have been deeply rooted in the community for a long while. He has spent the past three decades or so sprucing up neighborhood landscapes, donating time to the Dallas Arboretum, or teaching at the Dallas Horticultural Center.
When the couple met, Hall had finished culinary school and was operating a catering business — they married on Valentine’s Day 2002. The recently opened business, Hall says, melds the couple’s respective passions for the landscaping and culinary arts, along with their desire to support fellow artists and entrepreneurs.
On any given day, Hall can be found planning an event. On a warm fall Friday morning, for example, she is preparing for a movie screening for neighborhood families.
“Did you bring the screen?” Hall asks Ashley Stanley, a real estate agent who works part time delivering deli sandwiches for Another Byte.
“Sure did,” Stanley replies enthusiastically.
Moments later, Eric Johnson — who owns the building housing the restaurant — drops by, and Hall asks if he would consider being a judge in an upcoming chili cook-off.
“We need four judges,” she implores the playfully reluctant landlord. He eventually concedes pending a check of his schedule.
Stanley, who lives in nearby Casa Linda, says the café has garnered a lot attention from neighbors in the short time it has been around.
“We’ve had nothing but rave reviews from customers so far.”
Another Byte
Where/ 8939 San Benito Way
Hours/ Tuesday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
What else/ Farmer’s Market every Saturday and Sunday, and Dragonfire Yoga classes free every second Saturday of the month
