Preston Hollow Burger Feud

Balls Hamburgers slaps landlord with $1 million lawsuit

Balls Hamburgers menu features burgers, onion rings, fries, milkshakes and beer.
Courtesy photo
Balls has filed a lawsuit against its landlords at Northwest Highway and Midway.
Courtesy photo

Old-time Dallas favorite Balls Hamburgers is in a battle with its Preston Hollow landlord and has filed a lawsuit seeking in excess of $1 million.

Filed by Backbone Corporation/Balls Hamburgers, owner Carol Hobrecht and her business partner JDBurger Dallas, the suit charges the landlords – a quartet of faceless entities that includes Preston Hollow Saticoy, Preston Hollow Indian School, Preston Hollow Westgate and Westwood Financial Corp. – with breach of contract and fraud.

The 67-page petition describes a case "about a group of landlords and their agents attempting to improperly oust a family-owned and -operated restaurant from their shopping center in the Preston Hollow area of Dallas" to be replaced with a bigger, more profitable tenant.

Defendants did that by not only misrepresenting material facts about an existing commercial lease to Plaintiffs but by engaging in acts to prohibit Hobrecht and Balls Hamburgers from operating their restaurant, attempting to strong-arm Hobrecht and Balls Hamburgers into executing a new commercial lease with prohibitive terms that they do not have to execute, by charging rent and expenses that are not due under the existing lease agreement, and by requiring that Balls Hamburgers make its restaurant open to inspection by other potential tenants.

To make matters worse, during this same period of time, Hobrecht and Balls Hamburgers had entered into an agreement to sell their business to Plaintiff JDBurger Dallas Partners. Due to defendants' actions, the sale was terminated. As a result, plaintiffs have sustained substantial damages and injuries for which they seek relief.

The loss of that sale is what pushed it into the million-dollar zone.

Founded by Richard Barry Hobrecht in 1987, Balls pre-dates the current burger trend by decades. The original Balls in Snider Plaza closed in 2008 after losing its lease.

The Balls at 4343 Northwest Hwy. is the final surviving branch. Hobrecht first signed the lease in January 1988, and it was renewed every five years. He died in 2009. According to the lawsuit, the lease contained a five-year extension to 2018 that was automatic unless Carol Hobrecht stated that she did not want an extension.

In February, property manager Renee Tims sent Hobrecht a letter requiring that she execute a new lease agreement. Hobrecht had already entered into discussions with JDBurger, who issued a letter in April stating their intent to buy Balls for $300,000.

In May, Tims sent a new lease agreement with substantially different terms, designed to "prevent not only Balls Hamburgers but also JDBurger and any potential purchaser of Balls from operating any type of retail restaurant business on the property." The lawsuit protests that the new lease:

Raised the rent by 125 percent
Gave the landlord approval over the menu and hours of operation
Restricted signage and advertising
Prohibited subletting
Prohibited Hobrecht from operating any other restaurant within a 3-mile radius
Required that Balls maintain workers' compensation insurance
Required Hobrecht to pay additional money into a reserve fund for improvements to common areas of the shopping center, on top of Balls' monthly share of common area expenses
Increased the holdover rent amount by 60 percent
Restricted Hobrecht's ability to seek legal remedies through a trial by jury should the landlord breach the contract

In August, Hobrecht was informed that the restaurant would be moved into "hold over status" and was billed $14,210. (Her rent had previously been around $6,000.) At the same time, she began to receive inquiries from other burger chains seeking to acquire the space.

The lawsuit was filed on August 9. Other counts include negligent misrepresentations, civil conspiracy and a demand for trial by jury. In September, Judge Martin Hoffman appointed a mediator and scheduled the case for a non-trial-by-jury on September 9, 2014.

Dorothea Vidal, the lawyer representing the defendants, said that plans were underway to file a counter claim, possibly for trespassing.

"It'll be premature for me to say but we will be asking for a declaratory judgment, for the court to declare that we have the right to evict the tenant," she said. "We believe the lease has terminated and that lessee has violated the lease."

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Henderson Avenue News

Dallas bar High Fives will close on Henderson Avenue after 10 years

High Fives/Facebook

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A nightlife staple on Dallas' Henderson Avenue is closing: High Fives, the bar located at 1804 McMillan Ave., will close in early January, after more than 10 years.

According to a release, the actual closing date will be tied to the Texas Tech Red Raiders' game schedule in January.

"To all our neighbors, the Red Raider faithful, and everyone who has made High Fives their home—we are saying goodbye by raising our hands high for one last High Five," says owner Phil Schanbaum. "This establishment was built on community, spirited rivalry, and countless memories. We are deeply thankful to every single patron and, especially, to all of our incredible staff who were the heart and soul of this place."

High Fives opened in mid-2015, part of the portfolio of This & That Hospitality, the company Schanbaum founded with partner Brandon Hays, next door to its sibling bar The Whippersnapper (which was rebranded into a concept called Boogies in October 2025.)

Schanbaum says that they're unsure of what will go in the High Fives space after it closes — but that the closure "paves the way for the ongoing evolution of Henderson Avenue."

The property is owned by Acadia Realty, the New York-based company that is partnered with Dallas development firm Ignite-Rebees on a 161,000-square-foot, creative, mixed-use development currently underway on Henderson Avenue between Glencoe Street and McMillan Avenue at the eastern end of Henderson Avenue.

High Fives' closure is part of that plan to transform the quarter-mile stretch into a walkable destination featuring restaurants, retail, and office space.

"To Henderson Avenue, we look forward to further expansion and to making this street even better. We are excited for the neighborhood's renaissance, which will bring new experiences, retail, and dining concepts to the area," Schanbaum says.

Moving target
The actual closing date will depend on the outcome of the season for Texas Tech's football team the Red Raiders.

"The final chapter for High Fives will be written alongside the almighty Texas Tech Red Raiders. The bar's ultimate closure is tied directly to the team's success," the release says.

The next game day is on January 1, when doors open at 10 am.

If the Red Raiders advance past the game on January 1, High Fives will remain open for subsequent Texas Tech game days until the team's run ends. Meanwhile hours in December will be Thursdays & Fridays from 8 pm-2 am, and Saturdays: from 2 pm– 2 am.