Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

Trying to drive down Henderson in front of 77 Degrees last night at 1:00AM was a sh!t show. And frankly I'm not bothered by the traffic; I'll just use alternative routes on the weekends. It does though reinforce the feeling I have that these people didn't know what they were doing or where they were doing it.

eburress wrote:Trying to drive down Henderson in front of 77 Degrees last night at 1:00AM was a sh!t show. And frankly I'm not bothered by the traffic; I'll just use alternative routes on the weekends. It does though reinforce the feeling I have that these people didn't know what they were doing or where they were doing it.

This doesn't sound very good. Maybe it will be a short lived thing, people will get bored and move on.

It might be just the thing the neighborhood has been missing. Everything there is so buttoned-up and scripted and planogrammed that a disorganized, thrown-together Double-D pretentious playground is prefect, and the views are apparently all that. This side of Knox-Henderson needs some shaking up from the sound of it.

tamtagon wrote:Everything there is so buttoned-up and scripted

Wait, what?

Lose reference to Park Cities refinement. High end everything and fine dining.

Get a little sloppy; Knox used to be a hippy hollow, bring some of that back.

tamtagon wrote:It might be just the thing the neighborhood has been missing. Everything there is so buttoned-up and scripted and planogrammed that a disorganized, thrown-together Double-D pretentious playground is prefect, and the views are apparently all that. This side of Knox-Henderson needs some shaking up from the sound of it.

Agreed. I think it could be a way to connect Lower Greenville to Henderson. Be nice to have one big corridor.

My life on this side of the Central Expressway has been anything but buttoned-up. In fact, there's a certain dusty, chaotic lawlessness...several SUVs parked on the streets surrounding my house just had all their tires/rims stolen a few days ago, so I doubt we need more shaking up. But sure. I do agree that Knox is more pretentious and suffers from Highland Park spillover.

More tidbits: there's a shabby two-story building on the corner of Capitol and Fitzhugh, right in front of eburress's most-hated CVS, that appears to be turning over. It used to be nothing but Metro PCS, vape shops, and bail bonds, but now it's been cleaned out and put up for sale. I'm guessing the strip of old buildings along that stretch of Fitzhugh (Mexican grocery store, laundromat, another MetroPCS) will be the next casualties of gentrification. Kind of a shame, because the taco stand inside that grocery store is lit.

Emeralds to Coconuts on Henderson is also for sale now.

That is unfortunate to hear, exactly this mix on Fitzhugh is what makes this part of town exciting. The "Dallasification" of all of its neighborhoods is transforming the city in to one large "Blah" of Stucco and 3 story townhomes.

It's a balance we need to strike. I definitely moved here because the vibe was more grounded, down-to-earth, and pedestrian-friendly. I still think it's the area with the most personality in Central Dallas, and I love being able to quickly transition from Henderson into the M-Streets and Cochran Heights and over to Lower Greenville. However, I'm decidedly unhappy with the amount of crime in the area. I'm the type of urbanist who would rather see even more feet and eyes on the streets (as opposed to immediately calling for way more police) to tamp down on petty thefts, purse snatchings, and debauchery. This part of East Dallas just needs more residents to take more pride in their neighborhood.

emmasensei wrote:Emeralds to Coconuts on Henderson is also for sale now.

Interesting, I didn't realize that. That could be a really cool spot if developed properly (i.e., not a Right Aid or mattress store)! haha

If Emeralds to Coconuts becomes another CVS, we take to the potholed streets and we riot.

emmasensei wrote:If Emeralds to Coconuts becomes another CVS, we take to the potholed streets and we riot.

haha - agreed! I hate the CVS on capital. I pretty much hate every CVS built within a 5 mile radius of downtown. Still bitter at the one that took away the original Loon

I hate the CVS in the Bishop Arts. They tore down my favorite Mexican restaurant

MC_ScattCat wrote:I hate the CVS in the Bishop Arts. They tore down my favorite Mexican restaurant

El Corazon de Tejas was amazing. It is the only reason I make the drive to McKinney every once in a while.

This end of Henderson is anything but "buttoned-up and scripted."

MC_ScattCat wrote:I hate the CVS in the Bishop Arts. They tore down my favorite Mexican restaurant

This! Exactly what I mentioned in my last post. El Corazon was one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas. The fact that what probably should have been a historic building was torn down for a CVS proves to me that Dallas has no idea how to take care of what it has.

ContriveDallasite wrote:

MC_ScattCat wrote:I hate the CVS in the Bishop Arts. They tore down my favorite Mexican restaurant

This! Exactly what I mentioned in my last post. El Corazon was one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas. The fact that what probably should have been a historic building was torn down for a CVS proves to me that Dallas has no idea how to take care of what it has.

Yeah, this one was really bad.

"EscapeHatch has learned that the Irving-based Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group (Del Frisco’s Grill, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle and Sullivan’s Steakhouse) plans to open Barcelona Wine Bar, an upscale casual dining restaurant that specializes in Spanish and Mediterranean small plates and wines, in a former mechanic’s garage in the 5000 block of Miller Avenue and Henderson Avenue, adjacent to The Porch. Barcelona Wine Bars typically sport large outdoor patios."

Barcelona has a location in Boston, and it was my single favorite restaurant in the entire city. Food is incredible. This is VERY exciting for Henderson. Barcelona is very chic--I'd put it on the same level as Up On Knox, so the fact that yet another upscale restaurant is coming to Henderson, right on the heels of Enrique Tomas taking over Mesero, makes it feel like the street is evolving into a true destination. yay!

Very very cool!

Do we have a cool "Little Spain" district starting to take shape? Would be a really cool concentrated pocket.

We have a Little Ireland "district" further down Henderson, so why not a Little Spain as well? lol

I love that we have one or two/three places and we are calling it a little ______. Things that count as diversity in the south I guess.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:I love that we have one or two/three places and we are calling it a little ______. Things that count as diversity in the south I guess.

I don't think it's too common to find Spanish restaurants in the area, much less several in close proximity.

If you have two open recently in the same area, one might muse that something is possibly "starting to take shape".
It hasn't taken shape, mind you, that would be a conclusion much too rash to assume at this juncture.

There's that, and there's also the fact we're joking. Obviously nobody's seriously suggesting there's a little anything forming on Henderson...

Checked out 77 Degrees on Saturday night. All I can say is wow. Can’t get over how massive and out of place it looks.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:I love that we have one or two/three places and we are calling it a little ______. Things that count as diversity in the south I guess.

Tons of diversity in DFW, just not as much near the urban core..

Don't worry guys ive read the same pie charts as well I know how much diversity we have the joke still stands though.

Tnexster wrote:

eburress wrote:Trying to drive down Henderson in front of 77 Degrees last night at 1:00AM was a sh!t show. And frankly I'm not bothered by the traffic; I'll just use alternative routes on the weekends. It does though reinforce the feeling I have that these people didn't know what they were doing or where they were doing it.

This doesn't sound very good. Maybe it will be a short lived thing, people will get bored and move on.

I checked out 77 Degrees this past Saturday and sh!t show is absolutely right. It's such a weird venue that feels completely out of place, is designed like a Vegas style lounge, but it was jam packed like some of the popular bars on Deep Ellum. Such an odd location for this as well, I just don't see this place doing well long term. I do think Irish pub that is supposed to go in on the ground floor will do well, but I'm wondering if the weekend crowd at 77 degrees might actually deter some people (like myself) from going to the pub portion on the weekends.

I still think this place will a successful run simply because it is not like the rest of the neighborhood. Deep Ellum has been made great again (haha), and the tight collection of party bars is a big part of the appeal, but not all those types of bars should be designated for Deep Ellum.

tamtagon wrote:I still think this place will a successful run simply because it is not like the rest of the neighborhood. Deep Ellum has been made great again (haha), and the tight collection of party bars is a big part of the appeal, but not all those types of bars should be designated for Deep Ellum.

That's an interesting point. It's hard for me to be objective with a place like this, because it's not really my type of venue.

It seems like some of the newer bars are trying to do away with the notion of bar hopping, and want to create a venue so spacious and varied that people spend the majority of the night there (I got this feeling when going to Punch Bowl Social and Te Deseo). Again, not really my thing, but maybe it might work for them, and maybe if the idea isn't to bar hop, then this might still manage to pull it off.

I've been a few times to 77 Degrees and as ugly/bizarre as it is on the outside to look at, and while I wouldn't want to go there very often, I've actually had a fun time there.

I will say I have seen many friends post pics from there so being new certainly has worked but I will be curious if next summer/spring if they will still be around.

This may already be common knowledge, but Mister Rich has closed. They're doing a pop-up Halloween party on Thursday but after that they're gone forever. I don't personally have a problem with the place itself, but I absolutely hate the wooden fence separating the structure from its sidewalk. Hopefully whatever replaces Mr Rich removes the &%$*# fence.

Both Mr. Rich and Capitol Grill are closing. I want to be encouraged by it, since it might suggest a more grownup direction for Henderson Avenue, and these were both party pads. Of course I don't want to lose the vibrancy, but if they're replaced by slightly more sedate restaurant concepts, that'd be just fine with me.

Birchwood is apparently going to be a nail salon. Hooray for neighborhood services!!

^^ Interesting! It will be exciting to see what replaces Mr Rich, Capital Grill, and Emeralds to Coconuts...and it looks like Sissy's (or whatever's going to replace it) isn't far from reopening. Barcelona Wine Bar is also coming along.

Wife and daughter will appreciate the nail salon!

Bottle service bars are just boring places altogether so I am not sad to see it go.

Capitol Grill is the same aa Capitol Pub correct?

Oh yes, I misspoke. Capitol Pub is closing!

Wait, you were able to spot where Barcelona will be going in? Where exactly will it go? I've been trying to figure it out!

Enrique Tomas announced a mid-November opening date. Can't wait for that either.

haha it took me a few tries to find it but it's 5016 Miller Ave, next to Salon 5014 and immediately behind the Porch.

Ah, thank you E! I'm SO excited about it.

Went to Jack & Ginger's last week (soft opening). Some very small kinks to work out but the place is nice! Feels for a lack of a better word cozy. Kind of the opposite from the place above. Lots of selection on drinks and food is good! Ghost Pepper dip was on the giant pretzel was good! Service was attentive in making sure we had all we needed. Plenty of TV's so there's not a bad seat to watch a game. I think they're adding more as well. I know the upstairs has mixed reactions, but the pub was great. I think this place will be good at adding Lower Greenville Ave. to Upper Henderson/Knox.

Thanks for the review! I didn't know they opened. I feel like places that can be described as "cozy" are so few and far between in this part of Dallas, so that's encouraging. I'm going to make a point of checking it out this week.

A Denver-based taco joint called Uno Mas is under construction next to Smithy in a building that's been vacant for at least a few years, on the end of Henderson I think of as the "fancy" end (considering that we have Barcelona and Enrique Tomas incoming). I'm a little amazed that this part of town isn't already maxed out on tacos--we have Tacos Mariachi, El Come, Velvet, Tacoheads, El Bolero, Tacodeli inside Houndstooth, the Mexican grocery store, probably several I'm forgetting...

However, TacoHeads always seems to be packed in the evenings even though I think their food is fair-to-bad. So clearly somebody knows something I don't.

Interior looks pretty cute and cozy so far. It's a cute little building in general.

DPatel304 wrote:

Let’s Check In on That Planned Mixed-Use Development on Henderson Ave.
Construction is now slated to begin at the end of 2019, about a full year after the initial plans.

https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2 ... erson-ave/

Any word on this development? The Q4 reference from this article is clearly not happening.

It doesn't seem so. Hopefully it's just that their redesign process is taking longer than expected, but I could also see them waiting until summer when Henderson Ave is finished, delaying things even more.

eburress wrote:It doesn't seem so. Hopefully it's just that their redesign process is taking longer than expected, but I could also see them waiting until summer when Henderson Ave is finished, delaying things even more.

That is my worry as well. As much as I’ve enjoyed the street redevelopment picking up steam, especially the fact that they completely tore up the disaster that was the intersection of Henderson/capital, It would have been great to have both underway at the same time to get it all out of the way. I’m also super excited about this development so every delay just makes me more antsy.

Me too! The wait continues! lol

The problem is construction crews and trucks have to get to the site and if Henderson is under construction it's going to be problematic. If they use the side streets they are likely to run into issues with the neighborhood. Lord knows the city doesn't want to be answering emails/phone calls about why they allowed major construction of a big mixed-use project and the main thoroughfare at the same time. The worst part is actually that the big construction trucks would be driving over our new road applying damage and wear and tear that a honda civic would take years to apply.

Yep, exactly. I really, really want this development underway ASAP, but there's an incredible amount going on right now on top of the complete streets project. Off the top of my head:

Barcelona Wine bar
Enrique Tomas
Uno Mas
new nail salon
renovation of Emeralds to Coconuts
several new condo projects right on Henderson
side street utility work
demo of an old laundromat and, I think, a few lots adjacent
new cafe next to Henderson Dental
work on the beer garden just wrapped up...

...This is all within, like, a 4-block radius. I can't even explain to folks living outside the immediate area just how chaotic it is right now.

Uno Mas opens the 28th, Barcelona "sometime next week," and Enrique Tomas opened yesterday.

Also, today, these rather large decorative lightpoles are beginning to be installed. I like them. I especially like that they'll make walking down Henderson feel much safer.

emmasensei wrote:Uno Mas opens the 28th, Barcelona "sometime next week," and Enrique Tomas opened yesterday.

Also, today, these rather large decorative lightpoles are beginning to be installed. I like them. I especially like that they'll make walking down Henderson feel much safer.

They look great!