About Us

When the 12-year Dave rode his bike from Grimes County (between College Station and Houston) to Dallas in 1915, he had no idea he would become a successful African American in the 1940s. Many old-timers consider him to be Dallas’ first home-grown African American millionaire.

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Dave probably would have called his success hard work, because it never came easily to him. He spent many years working as a chauffeur and handyman for A. C. Ebie, a powerful Dallas businessman and General Manager of Magnolia Petroleum Company. Dave saved the money he made and used his earnings to purchase a 204-acre farm in Carrollton in the 1930s. When Mr. Ebie died in 1938, he left Dave and his wife Betty $1,000. In 1940, they used the money to purchase several properties in the Elm Thicket neighborhood of Dallas, was located on the eastern edge of Love Airfield, a single runway at the time.  Later he and his wife came to own over 177 acres in what is now known as the Dalworth area which extended from Tyre Park on the West to near Highway 161 on the east.  

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In this area they owned more than 20 houses and residential lots. The Dave’s were very community minded and at their pinnacle, they were able to give many job opportunities to the African American community members.  They supported the area schools and church establishments.  They were very instrumental in supporting the African American right to vote (many times offering to pay poll taxes of those who could not afford to pay).  The Dave’s were able to provide affordable and good housing for the first time in the community.   They operated one of the most picturesque and productive farms ever in the City of Grand Prairie.  Mr. Dave was a Dallas County Deputy Sheriff.  

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The Dave’s legacy continues on today through his descendants’ contribution to the Dalworth community.  The tireless work of Alexandria Dave in the community – working with the future generations is a testament to the Dave work ethic – honor, hard work, dedication and vision.

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Elm Thicket was a tough area that ran from south from Mockingbird to Northwest Highway. During the late 20s, it was a shanty town known for its stills and bootleggers during prohibition. Most of the houses didn’t have indoor plumbing and electricity and well water caused many outbreaks of typhoid in 1934. By the early 1940s Elm Thicket had morphed into a mixed race, working class combination of houses, shacks, and Quonset huts. On one of his properties, Dave built Dave’s Barbecue, a restaurant that served “blacks only.” As the popularity of his meats grew he served take-out to the white workers who were expanding Love Field to accommodate the growth from WWII and the increase in commercial airline traffic. At the same time, Highland Park was swelling to the east and the current Bluffview neighborhood was also pushing the black residents out of Elm Thicket. But Eltee Dave didn’t budge. Instead he smartly expanded the restaurant by adding a “whites only” dining room.

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“As a boy I would take a little green bowl to the back door of the barbecue joint and pass it through to Dave so that he could put $2 worth of meat in the bowl,” Jesse Graves, a former resident of Elm Thicket remembers. “It was the best barbecue that I have ever eaten.”  By this time, Dave had expanded his business to include several rent houses, a motel, a service station, and a wood yard where residents bought wood to cook with. Dave was the largest land owner in the area.

Which became a huge problem for the city of Dallas when they decided to expand Love Field and move Lemmon Avenue to the east. Dave was given two choices: sell, or face condemnation. In 1955, he settled on a payment of $125,525 for all of his properties and businesses.

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We know he built at least four barbecue restaurants, all named Dave’s Place. Dave worked in the kitchen of his Westmoreland location. He “rented out” the other three, an early and inexpensive version of franchising.

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A 1975 D Magazine ran a review of Dave’s noted, “He putters around his bricked smoke-pit room in a white chefs uniform (complete with tall rumpled chef’s hat) as surely and dapperly as if he were manning the soufflés at the Pyramid Room.” By this time, Dave also owned three ranches, one of which was a 192-acre cattle farm at the edge of Lou Foote airfield in Grand Prairie. By 1965 the land was encircled by housing developments. The tag of “Dallas’ first black millionaire” was attached to his name.