Nilifur Arsala | Photo by Breonny Lee
By Taylor Adams Cogan
For Nilifur “Nil” Arsala, relocating to the Twin Cities didn’t diminish her love for her former home of Deep Ellum. No matter where a person goes, if they developed community in this urban part of Dallas that so many love, it’s a hard thing to shake.
“It just feels like you’re part of something, you’re part of something big,” she says of the neighborhood.
Nil’s originally from Oklahoma, where, in 1998, it wasn’t legal for people to get tattoos. Even across state lines, the then-18-year-old and her friends knew the place to go was Deep Ellum.
”It was the coolest thing coming from Edmond, Oklahoma, to the middle of Deep Ellum to get tattoos. And for it to become home in such a big way was pretty amazing,” she says.
Years later, North Texas radio listeners would hear her voice over the airwaves – you may remember her as a host of a local show and a midday show, both on KXT. That is, after years of visiting to see bands and the arts festival, then living there and working at Armoury DE.
Living in the Marquis on Gaston and later on Greenville Avenue, she had easy access to walk through the neighborhood as she needed, then hop a bit to stay in East Dallas, but in a quieter area.
She also had her own weekly show on KNON for four years. It’s fair to say she was well-known on North Texas airwaves, landing on-air jobs at KERA News and KXT, in addition to serving as the manager of radio operations for North Texas Public Broadcasting.
For 16 years, she pursued her professional passion in Dallas-Fort Worth, with much of that time centered in Deep Ellum.
Whatever work she had, she still made time to work at Armoury for a year and a half, going in Friday and Saturday nights and (graciously) working brunch.
“I’d go in at 7 and work until close, it was fun,” she says. “When you work with people in Deep Ellum, there’s a little bit of extra magic there.”
For those not in the industry, this is true most places, but it’s particularly memorable in Deep Ellum, where people have your back, support you, and celebrate you, no questions asked.
”It’s like being part of the cool kids’ club, when you’re working at a really cool spot like Armoury or Ruins,” she says.
Before leaving the state, her family moved farther from Deep Ellum, but that didn’t keep them from the neighborhood.
“We were still in Deep Ellum — my husband bartended in Deep Ellum and Bishop Arts. It’s just always been where we are,” she says.
Part of these Deep Ellum People stories involves getting professional headshots by neighborhood pro Breonny Lee. Nil returned for that photoshoot, instantly falling back into the rhythm of the district.
“Breonny was there, I also ran into three people I know. You have history everywhere, on every corner, that’s really what it is,” she says. “I grew up in Oklahoma, and I remember being in awe the first time I went to Deep Ellum. But it became my home.
“It’s almost got a camaraderie or magic you can’t describe. It’s just there for those who know it.”
