If this sign could talk, I like to imagine it would say, “You think this is bad? You should see the other guy.”

This delicious photo is courtesy of Dough's Michael Giordano

Hear ye, hear ye. The much-touted San Antonio-based pizza joint will make its Preston Forest Village debut a week from today, owner Lori Horn said.

Who’s going?

In one of my favorite episodes of Modern Family, Phil and Claire Dunphy celebrate their anniversary by role playing characters who meet in a sophisticated and sexy bar. They ditch the worries of parenthood and the mundane for a brief time while sipping cocktails in what can only be described as a James Bond-style locale.

Well, not to be outdone, right here in Preston Hollow is an equally uber-cool bar at Preston and Forest. While surrounded by not so cool retail like Petland and Beauty Times, the Mercury creates an adult atmosphere that screams “date night.”  I’m not into formal dinners, so I recommend skipping the dining room and ordering your meal in the bar. The food is also enticing, making it a one-stop rendezvous spot. It’s masculine, but not sporty; dark, but not depressing, and the perfect place to begin, or end, a date night with your partner. Phil and Claire Dunphy would love to meet at the Mercury.

Honestly, I’ll admit that I thought Walgreens and CVS had merged and were one company. I’m going to blame my confusion on this dispute. At any rate, signage on Preston Road and Forest Lane boasts a 24-hour Walgreens is “coming soon” to the space next to Whole Foods. David Johnson, owner of R.L. Johnson Construction, said the store will be open for business by the end of October.

This will make Walgreens the second 24-hour store at Preston and Forest, with the first being CVS located a stone’s throw away across the street. Props to commenter “Hollowmite” for bringing this construction to my attention.

If you haven’t already jogged over to the newest Run On location at Preston Forest Village, then this deal will surely get your motor running. To celebrate its arrival to the neighborhood, Run On is giving away a $100 gift card to the first person to correctly respond to the following trivia question in the comments section:

You’ve seen the Nike check mark on everything from socks and shoes to shirts and underwear, but do you know what the name itself stands for? Give the correct definition of Nike, as well as the language of origin, and you’ll be rewarded with a $100 gift card to spend on any old brand you like.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

While Dough Pizzeria is still being a tease, two other businesses have signed, sealed, and delivered on their leases at Preston Road and Forest Lane. Run On Dallas and Dr. Tattoff are the latest additions to the intersection. I say make it a double-header shopping experience and get a new pair of kicks and a clean bicep/lower back/ankle in one fell swoop.

Summer is here and I have been shopping for some inexpensive (code for “sale”) items for the kids and me.  Sometimes NorthPark Center is crowded so the other day I headed north on Preston Road looking for somewhere to earn a few miles on my credit card.

I arrived at The Gap at Preston and Royal.  I have been to the store several times and each time there is a different sale.  I once wandered in and there was a sale because it was Tuesday.  Another time there was a 40 percent off day and another time a 15 percent off day.  This week there is a buy-one-get-one for $5 day, but only on kids shirts and not on shorts.  Keep in mind the 40 percent off  is good on most items, but not for jeans and, by the way, the buy-one-get-one for $5 sale doesn’t apply to marked down merchandise.  But, that’s okay because there’s an extra discount if you use your Gap credit card or open an account.

Confused? I love a great sale, but I also like predictability.  Spastic sales, like a spastic colon, are an annoyance.  I always leave the Gap wondering if I got the best deal or will there be a better sale tomorrow.  Maybe that’s the point. Maybe spastic sales bring shoppers back or maybe they just go to Nordstrom for the oh-so-simple semi-annual sale.

The typical police blotter for this paper consists of a handful of car and home burglaries, a slew of shoplifting at NorthPark Center, and a sprinkling of vandalism. Kid stuff, really. And we like it that way. A boring police blotter=a safe community.

However, this weekend there were three violent robberies in our ‘hood. While that’s not an outlandish number of crimes, it is unusual for our coverage area (which by the way, is defined as Hillcrest Road to Midway Road, and Forest Lane to Mockingbird-ish. There’s a fair bit of gerrymandering going on, but you get the gist).

We don’t cover the area west of Midway, where Google Maps labels “Preston Hollow.”

April 29

Around 4 p.m., three assailants attacked woman as she got out of her car in the 6000 block of Forest Lane, punching and kicking her while stealing $200 in cash and two diamond rings worth $300.

April 30

At 1:30 a.m., two men robbed a Bluffview resident of his keys, cash, camera, and phone at gunpoint in the 4500 block of Cherokee Trail. According to police, the man was accosted as he arrived home in his black 2000 two-door Porsche. The robbers approached him with semiautomatic pistols, demanded he get out of the car, and said “Give me everything you got, or I’ll shoot you.” The man complied, producing Land Rover keys worth $500, $80 cash, a $450 Cannon digital camera, and two iPhones worth $900. One of the robbers then told the man, “Lie down or I’ll shoot you.” Again, the man complied but kept an eye on his assailants. Shortly after this, the other robber told him to go lay down across the street. The man watched as the robbers attempted to pry open the hood of his Porsche, and while they were distracted, he ran away on foot and contacted police in the 5100 block of West Lovers Lane.

At 7:53 a.m., a man knocked on the back door of Natural Grocers in the 11600 block of Preston Road. According to police, the man was standing next to a pile of boxes and the store manager believed he was making a delivery. When the manager opened the door, the man threw the boxes at him, entered the store, and pulled out a gun. The man demanded to be taken to the second floor office “where the money was kept.” However, upon arrival the man did not find any money and demanded to go to the safe room, where they found another employee counting $2,500 in cash. The man took both the employees’ cell phones, cut the main phone line, and had one of the employees dump the cash into a black draw-string bag. He told the employees to stay in the safe room, and fled the store on foot through a fire exit, which set off an alarm. A third employee unaware of the robbery came out because of the alarm, but the robber had already left.

For more coverage of local crime, pick up the May 6 edition of Preston Hollow People.

The lovely folks at Clotheshorse Anonymous have pitched in a $500 gift certificate for our Mother’s Day Makeover contest. Our April 25 deadline is fast approaching, so don’t wait too long to nominate someone. All you need to do is send an email to editor@peoplenewspapers.com telling us why this Preston Hollow mom deserves the makeover of her dreams. Don’t forget to include a daytime phone number and the mother’s ZIP code, too.

If you’ve never scoured the racks at the legendary purveyors of high-end resale, then you’re missing out. Want to find out what’s in store before making the trek to Preston Road and Forest Lane? Follow them on twitter or facebook!

For a while, a storm has been brewing about Lowe’s plans to add a large gas station to its lot at Forest Lane and Inwood Road. Residents from Melshire Estates as well as members of the Jesuit and St. Rita’s community are rallying together to prevent the proposal from passing.

On March 7, concerned parties met with Councilwoman Ann Margolin and city representatives to discuss the issue. Now the debate is moving past the point of conversation into one of action. In order to defeat the proposal, a petition with at least 200 signatures and a strong show of community opposition is needed at the upcoming City Plan Commission meeting.

If you’re passionate about this issue, mark your calendar for next Thursday.

WHERE: Dallas City Hall, council chambers

WHEN: 1:30 p.m., March 24

WHY: To voice your opinion about the Lowe’s Rezoning application