Best of 2018: One-Owner Family Home of Local Chef in North Dallas Up for Sale

[Editor’s note: Merry Christmas! This week, we’re taking time off to focus on our loved ones, so we are sharing some of our favorite stories from this year. Keep an eye out for our top features from the archives as we rest and get ready for a brilliant 2019! Cheers, from Candy and the entire staff at CandysDirt.com!]

Bethany: It’s always so much fun when you get to profile a family with the home – and this great home that belongs to one of Dallas’s best restaurant families was a great opportunity to do just that. 

Now that Amy and Jim “Sevy” Severson’s children have left the nest, the two have set their sights on a Gulf Coast vacation home and a smaller abode in Dallas. That decision is going to mean great things for a new family, since they’ve listed the North Dallas home they built in 2001.

If the Severson name sounds familiar, it’s because the two have owned Sevy’s Grill, the restaurant named after Jim, since 1997.

That four-bedroom, three-bath home at 6550 Dykes Way is built for a family — literally. The Seversons bought the property and lived in the existing home from 1991.

“We bought our property in 1991 when the street was all original and you could walk into the Downs of Hillcrest from our end of the street,” Amy said. “It was all working class ranch houses, 1400-1600 square feet tucked into a ‘hidden’ north Dallas neighborhood bookended by newer, walled neighborhoods on Hillcrest and Preston.”

But the original home became a squeeze for the family of four, eventually.

“We loved our little city sanctuary, almost half acre at the end of a street, but we outgrew the original home by 2000,” Amy said. “We hired architects Bernbaum & Magadini — Bruce and Cindy Bernbaum were friends via Kramer Elementary. Our builder was Howard Gorman of Gorman Homes.”

That home, built with growing kids in mind, sits on a nearly half-acre lot on a quiet cul-de-sac. The layout is family friendly, with its open kitchen and den that provide views of not only playing children during dinner prep, but gorgeous views of the big backyard and pool.

Downstairs, a study/office full of built-ins and a substantial dining room flank the entryway, which leads to the kitchen and den, as well as a bedroom and bathroom.

That downstairs bedroom also accesses a separate limestone patio outside, via French doors.

Upstairs, a master suite, two bedrooms, and a playroom mean mom, dad, and the kids can live on the same floor.

Outside, besides the gorgeous pool with beautiful fountains and lighting, another nod to Texas summers (and mosquitos) serves as a versatile entertaining space — a screened porch, just off the grill zone.

And a new family will undoubtedly appreciate the mudroom sink in the garage for those quick cleanups of the “don’t you dare track that in here” variety.

The neighborhood, Amy said, is also a perfect place for a young family to nest.

“Our neighborhood was originally called The Citadel, however, most of the original homes are now replaced with new ones,” she said. “It is located on a branch of the White Rock Lake creek system, so there is an abundance of birds and wildlife passing through.”

“The neighborhood is an eruv, an orthodox Jewish neighborhood filled with neighbors of all faiths,” she said. “It has a strong neighborhood Yahoo group email system and also many are members of Hillcrest Forest Neighborhood Association.”

The North Dallas home is zoned for Pershing Elementary (which has three distinctions from the Texas Education Agency), and Ben Franklin Middle School and Hillcrest High, which are both International Baccalaureate schools.

The home is listed for $975,000 by Debbie Sherrington with Dave Perry Miller Real Estate. An open house will be held Sunday, Nov. 4, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.