When Kessler Park resident Earl Cross worked in the District Attorney’s office, one of his colleagues used to call him "huckleberry," to tease him for being from Arkansas. His wife, Amanda Cross, thought it was hillarious. That’s why she decided to name their new bar and grill Huckleberry’s.

The restaurant, which is expected to open the first week of July, is in a converted house on Centre Street. The Crosses had to convert the 1,481-square-foot space into a restaurant and bar. "Everything that’s in there, we had to build it," Amanda Cross said. That includes a granite-topped bar, restrooms, an industrial kitchen with a range vent and grease trap, and a big covered patio. Besides the bar, Huckleberry’s includes about eight inside tables, a lounge area and about eight more tables outside. The restaurant has a fenced parking lot for about 25 cars, and the patio has a view of the Texas Theater.

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They are planning a basic pub grub menu of burgers and sandwiches, with daily specials. Amanda Cross is a real estate agent who has lived and worked in Oak Cliff for 20 years. She says she owned property in the Bishop Arts district when most of the buildings were still boarded up. But she says chose this location because of ample parking and a desire to branch out into other parts of the neighborhood.