Shemar Dupress (David Taffet/Dallas Voice) After two years of obstacles, Shoncy Raspberry’s Area 111 has finally opened DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer taffet@dallasvoice.com Shoncy Raspberry knew that the bar he owned in northwest Dallas wasn’t going to draw the crowds and see the success he wanted.
So he started looking for a space closer to the traditional gayborhood. That’s when he found the building at 111 Oak Lawn, less than a block from the Trinity River levee in the Design District.
The street was mostly lined with rundown old warehouses, but Raspberry saw potential. So he rented the building and set out to turn it into an LGBTQ hot spot.