Deep Ellum People: John LaRue

By Taylor Adams Cogan Staring up at the stage, your eyes long-adjusted to the dim room pierced by vibrant lighting to set the tone, your body moves to the sound without thought or concern. You make sure not to let your drink spill out from the plastic cup in your hand...

Deep Ellum People: Jessica Brodsky

By Taylor Adams Cogan People love Deep Ellum for its music scene, the reliably good restaurants, and/or the hundreds of murals we have, making both historic and brand-new buildings special. But fewer know the fuel behind that, and the real reason people love this...

Deep Ellum People: Allen Falkner

By Taylor Adams Cogan Allen Falkner is not your average small business owner. He’s the kind of man a lot of people know from varying circles of interest. Some know him from his years of work ridding their bodies of tattoos they don’t want – fading away unwanted...

Deep Ellum People: Madison King Gray

By Taylor Adams Cogan When Madison King Gray picked up a guitar at age 8, she was taking a simple step that would shape her future in Dallas, first as a musician, then as a culinary talent. Going to a private school downtown, Madison and her group of musician friends...

Deep Ellum People: Chris Lewellyn

By Taylor Adams Cogan When Chris Lewellyn was a teenager growing up in Rockwall, his path to Deep Ellum wasn’t exactly direct, but it was magnetic. Eventually, it would become the place that helped him rebuild his life. “When we were young, we’d come into East Dallas...

Deep Ellum People: Paula Harris

BY Taylor Adams Cogan In 2009, Paula Harris picked up the Dallas Observer's “Best of Dallas” issue and paused at a certain listing. “There was this gallery, and I thought, ‘That’s an interesting name,’” she says. “We were still in the MySpace days, so I was going...

Deep Ellum People: Joel Triska

BY Taylor Adams Cogan It’s often the case that a pastor hopes to guide and teach, shaping beliefs and offering a path forward. But try that in Deep Ellum, and the neighborhood just might change the pastor instead. That was the case for Joel Triska, who came to Deep...

Deep Ellum People: Cathryn Colcer

BY Taylor Adams Cogan Many people in Deep Ellum know Cathryn Colcer: Her warm nature is welcoming, she’s an integral part of the art scene, and her passion for history helps her keep this important neighborhood’s stories alive. And, of course, she’s part of those...

Deep Ellum People: Jeff Swaney

BY Taylor Adams Cogan Back when Deep Ellum was boarded-up buildings and shopping carts, Jeff Swaney saw more than potential — he saw possibility. The kind that burns at both ends, then tosses the candle into a warehouse party with 2,500 people and says, “Let’s go...

Deep Ellum People: Don Cass

Photo Credit: Breonny Lee BY Taylor Adams Cogan Plenty of people aspire to the American dream, but Don Cass has pursued a bit of the Texas version, going from working the fields of a farm as a 6-year-old to developing real estate in the best parts of Dallas. Maybe...