LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — When you travel west of downtown along Markham Street, you'll find the Historic District of Hillcrest.
A neighborhood that always has something new going on filled with local shops and restaurants.
It was established in the late 19th century as the first suburb in Little Rock. Theresa Ketcher has lived in several different neighborhoods in Little Rock, but has been in Hillcrest for 15 years now and said it is her favorite.
"This is like modern Mayberry living as close as you can," Ketcher said.
The Hillcrest Historic District continues to charm many with its homes, restaurants and shops.
Steve Schuler, HarvestFest Chair and Rock City Eats Senior Writer, said the quaint neighborhood is about to add something new to its streets this October.
"Hillstation is going to have about 100 seats, be a neighborhood restaurant – burgers, sandwiches, salad, soups and the like," he said.
Schuler said there have been several other changes in the area like a new tex-mex restaurant, record store and comic book store.
"This is a neighborhood that attracts a lot of people throughout the day. It's got great lunch, it's got wonderful walkability, it's beautiful and so as a result, real estate here is pretty desirable," he said.
Schuler said in this past year alone, Hillcrest has really grown. He believes this is due to the fact of several of the businesses moving in that hold true to Hillcrest values.
Businesses like Control being one of the many. Wes Howerton is a co-owner of the new record store on Kavanaugh Blvd.
"We opened here on the 22nd of June, so it's been a little over 5 weeks," he said.
Howerton said Hillcrest was the perfect fit for his new business.
"Hillcrest was definitely on our list of neighborhoods we wanted to move into. It's always kind of been an arts neighborhood and that's what we do with vinyl records, so with the tradition of Hillcrest we were really excited that this location opened up," he said.
A location that Ketcher said is "pretty special" for one particular reason.
"I think it's the people. Just the collective body of all the different types of personalities and people and business and walks of life make it unique," she said.
Schuler agreed with Ketcher.
"The people here take seriously the Hillcrest culture, that ethic of love your neighbor. It's really present here and it makes this place special," he said.