Downtown Dallas: Retail

[willyk]

Acclaimed Fort Worth taqueria brings authentic eats to downtown Dallas

...in the Mayflower Building.

http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/01-05-17-salsa-limon-opening-downtown-dallas-mayflower/

[willyk]

Why restaurants are flocking to downtown Dallas

“We’re getting tremendous new restaurants coming in from outside the city, and most of that is because of Dallas’ elevation in the national scene, because we’re growing at a ridiculous rate,” Gosnell added.

Cost isn’t deterring restaurateurs looking for space. Commercial real estate data firm Xceligent reported that while most prices are negotiable, they typically run between $17.58 to $26.16 per square foot. Gosnell has seen spaces lease for up to $35 to $40 per square foot.

But that’s still a bargain compared to nearby Uptown, where prices can range up to $60 per square foot.

Downtown’s density also means tenants have to pay less in ad valorem taxes, or taxes based on the value of a transaction or property.

“When you have a tremendously dense zone piece, the ad valorem taxes are much lower, because you have more square footage to absorb the tax bill,” Gosnell added.

Currently, the hottest spots in downtown include an area bracketed by Main Street Garden Park and Belo Park, with streets like Commerce, Main and Elm running in between.

The revitalization of AT&T Plaza, the Farmers Market and the West End are also attracting new tenants.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/ ... allas.html

[willyk]

Inside Le Labo’s Return to Dallas

Forty Five Ten is sparking a bit of a renaissance downtown. How does Le Labo hope to factor into that?

We bring our craft to this neighborhood, the same way we do in Venice, New York’s West Village, Shoreditch in London, and more. Though we don’t think so much in neighborhoods (we are not a traditional retailer in that sense), our followers will find a way to get to us wherever we are, and that’s our own little luxury.

http://www.dmagazine.com/home-garden/2016/12/inside-le-labos-return-to-dallas/

[jrd1964]

Work has been ongoing for a few weeks on a new Smoothie King location in part of the ex-Cafe Solace (and ex-Wall Street Deli before that) space in the tunnel food court at the 1700 Pacific building. No sign yet as to when it will be finished and open.

[lakewoodhobo]

Bread Zeppelin is now open on Main and Field (formerly Anton Cafe and Ten Sports Bar).

[ericthegardener]

Goofy name, but I enjoyed my meal there. Good for those days when I just want a big salad for lunch.

[willyk]

Filling The Voids In The Downtown Dallas Experience

Could have been written by anyone on the Forum. At least we have consensus about the problem.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bisnow/2017/01/10/filling-the-voids-in-the-downtown-dallas-experience/#28b4700337c6

[Jasimm]

This falls slightly out of the typical downtown area, but in uptown at the cross of Farimount and McKinney (forgive me I cannot recall the address number) I passed by and noticed a Patagonia advertisement in this vacant building. I do go to this side of uptown frequently, but does anyone know if this has been here a while? Or if Patagonia might finally be setting up it's first Dallas store?

[dukemeredith]

Quite an interesting article from February 2016 about the owner of a handful of downtown Dallas restaurants, Mike Hoque.

http://www.fwtx.com/articles/fwinc/cove ... %E2%80%99t

Some ideas that haven't quite come to fruition are mentioned:

This year [2016], besides the two Fort Worth restaurants, in March, Hoque expects to open Oven and Cellar, his twist on Neapolitan pizza, on Main in his downtown Dallas cluster. And later in the spring, he plans on opening Farmer’s Commons, a bakery and “farm to table” restaurant in the Mercantile Building at Main and Ervay Street.

Oven & Cellar looks to have stalled. I haven't seen any activity inside for a while.

And I had never heard of the Farmer's Commons concept. While a good location, I would expect that space to go retail instead of restaurant.

[willyk]

Dallas' Latest Fine Dining Spot Quietly Opened in One of Downtown's Hottest Boutiques

http://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/dallas-latest-fine-dining-spot-quietly-opened-in-one-of-downtowns-hottest-boutiques-9090713

[willyk]

Urban Farmhouse Designs @ Farmers Market.

This really validates the Farmers Market redo, when new to market retailers chose that as their location.

What we’re REALLY excited about, though, is what is coming in 2017. We’ve spent the last few weeks plotting out our BRAND NEW location in the Dallas Farmer’s Market. Jason and I have been dreaming of a Dallas location since the beginning and can’t believe the time has finally come to start planning and building. So, if you stop into the Farmer’s Market within the next few months and hear some commotion going on at the new location, give us a wave! We’ll be busy bringing Urban Farmhouse to Texas and we can’t wait for you to experience it in the summer of 2017.

http://www.urbanfarmhouse.com/blogs/news/goodbye-2016-hello-dallas

[ArtVandelay]

Has the Jos. A Bank in DP&L closed yet? Word is that space is available Feb. 1

Also - Chase Bank at Main and Akard is closing soon.

[tamtagon]

^Jos. A Bank was one of the first stores to open, contributing to the end of the ghost town.

[Kelley USA]

This falls slightly out of the typical downtown area, but in uptown at the cross of Farimount and McKinney (forgive me I cannot recall the address number) I passed by and noticed a Patagonia advertisement in this vacant building. I do go to this side of uptown frequently, but does anyone know if this has been here a while? Or if Patagonia might finally be setting up it's first Dallas store?

You're probably seeing the old Tailwaters location... That sign has been in the window for years.

[lakewoodhobo]

Has the Jos. A Bank in DP&L closed yet? Word is that space is available Feb. 1

Also - Chase Bank at Main and Akard is closing soon.

I think Chase used to be a Walgreen's. Would be cool to have them back, but really couldn't stand to see that space empty on such a prominent corner.

[dukemeredith]

Has the Jos. A Bank in DP&L closed yet? Word is that space is available Feb. 1

Also - Chase Bank at Main and Akard is closing soon.

Why are these places closing?

[Tivo_Kenevil]

I hope chase doesn't go. Why they seem to get good traffic..

[cowboyeagle05]

There is plenty of Chase access downtown so I am not surprised. The potential positive with the JosABank closing is it a sleepy bit of retail and with that space combined with the empty lot next to it facing Browder you could see a fresh approach to something now that the neighborhood is changing. Some of the first rounds of retail will close because it was based on previous usage patterns. Now that the numbers have improved in some ways and new development I'm sure something better could lease the space.

[tamtagon]

I wonder which will be the first national department store to open in the downtown area. Sears definitely not, Dillards could, Penny should, Macy would fit the neighborhood as the anchor of a full block pedistal & tower(s) redevelopment on one of the remaining Uptown strip center & parking lot jumble, or maybe Cityplace East.... Barney could actually make it work this time downtown, or Saks or Nordstrom, when there's enough people.

Seems pretty clear that suburban shopping malls are having a hard time competing; online purchasing (Amazon.com is the new Sears & Roebuck mail order catalog) and nimbly convenient suburban strip centers have clamped down on the status quo suburban shopping mall-- leaving the department stores without a de facto location, so they'll have to grow where the most people are concentrated, answering the contemporary convenience of Amazon.com as was done to answer the convenience of the Sears & Roebuck.

[Jay9398]

The Chase branch at Akard and Main is definitely closing the first week of April. I received formal notification in the mail from Chase late last week.

Aside from the personal convenience factor (since I live on the block), that particular location has the only Chase ATM downtown location that I know of that is accessible outside of normal business hours, and it is the only location in or near downtown that has Saturday hours (the next closest is on Lemmon). I don't know if they plan to address either of those concerns since neither were specifically mentioned in the communication I got.

[muncien]

I'm not in the 'biz' and I have no numbers to support this, but I feel the days of traditional big department stores are numbered in general. Even more so when considering city cores. While these historic downtown are filling up again, it seems the demographic involved has little interest in anchor department stores. Perhaps the 'Belks' can hold out for a while, but just recently, those like Macy's have announced closings in various downtown locations.
Much like the success of malls these days depend on mid-size retailers such as TJ Max, Old Navy, Forever XXI, etc... I think these core shopping destinations will do the same. And I'm totally okay with that. I'd love to see some small to mid-size, mainstream, retailers open in existing spaces in downtown. That would be a HUGE boost for the area.

[Jbarn]

It seems like every time we take a step forward with retail downtown, we take a step back. We never seem to be able to get over that hump. I am amazed that those high-priced stores on Main are still in business. I suspect Headington is heavily subsidizing them. The majority of folks who work downtown are suburbanites, they have no desire to shop down there, they want to go to work, eat at their desks, and then flee the city as quickly as they can when their shift ends. And it seems the folks that live down there still for the most part maintain their suburban ways as the streets are typically pretty empty considering there are 150k people in downtown on a typical day. Maybe we just need to come to terms with the fact that our downtown will never be the retail hub that it used to be. We should focus on uptown as our new downtown and make downtown our business district.

[cowboyeagle05]

My focus has always been making Downtown a neighborhood now a retail destination. Headington has other ideas, though. He wants to surround his properties with more luxury destinations and that can be at odds with the Downtown neighborhood direction. As long as the CVS isn't replaced by another high-end valet only replacement we will be fine. The office workers want affordable lunch so that business has only done better thanks to neighborhood restoration efforts but any focus on a Downtown mall of shopping is a waste of energy. Focus on it as a neighborhood that can serve tourists and office workers. I'm fine with Headington cause he doesn't own all of Downtown yet. There is still a sizable amount of property that is serving and can continue to serve residents.

[LongonBigD]

It seems like every time we take a step forward with retail downtown, we take a step back. We never seem to be able to get over that hump. I am amazed that those high-priced stores on Main are still in business. I suspect Headington is heavily subsidizing them. The majority of folks who work downtown are suburbanites, they have no desire to shop down there, they want to go to work, eat at their desks, and then flee the city as quickly as they can when their shift ends. And it seems the folks that live down there still for the most part maintain their suburban ways as the streets are typically pretty empty considering there are 150k people in downtown on a typical day. Maybe we just need to come to terms with the fact that our downtown will never be the retail hub that it used to be. We should focus on uptown as our new downtown and make downtown our business district.

I have never had the impression that the very expensive retailers in downtown Dallas were intended to be marketed to/shopped by office workers or local residents even. I always assumed they were there for the tourists (both international and from both East and West Texas) who fill up the hotel rooms which are not filled by conventioneers. I worked at NorthPark many years ago and a very large contingent of customers were international tourists who had been bussed to the mall by hotels like Aldophus, etc back in the day. This tradition probably continues via Uber or car service today from the boutique hotels downtown. In addition, I have always assumed most of these retailers business comes from 'private' shoppers and mail order. These tourists would continue to buy even after they return home. If you can afford and are accustomed to the offerings sold here, once you return to Midland or Tyler, the merchandise at your local Belk just won't cut it.

[tamtagon]

My focus has always been making Downtown a neighborhood now a retail destination. Headington has other ideas, though. He wants to surround his properties with more luxury destinations and that can be at odds with the Downtown neighborhood direction.

I don't see how the luxury destinations are at odds with the neighborhood direction, different certainly, but not conflicting in the least. Generally, Downtown is one of the few places that capable of holding literally every level of destination from the homeless shelter and soup kitchen to most expensive residential square footage in the region. This capacity for variety is the hallmark of any "downtown," and really, why would anyone be surprised by a growing collection of high end, haute couture boutiques or another expensive department store opening up near Neiman Marcus.... a thick representation of just about all the other levels of retail certainly will follow the growing population.

I have never had the impression that the very expensive retailers in downtown Dallas were intended to be marketed to/shopped by office workers or local residents even. I always assumed they were there for the tourists (both international and from both East and West Texas) ... If you can afford and are accustomed to the offerings sold here, once you return to Midland or Tyler, the merchandise at your local Belk just won't cut it.

Totally! Dallas has always been a serious shopping destination, the trade area includes two thirds of Texas! just about everything except Houston and The Valley. The Galleria, NorthPark, Highland Park Village are home to stores (and collection of stores) that could not exist even in big population centers like Austin and San Antonio. Uptown has successfully becoming a similarly unique retail destination, but the real strength continues to come out of hibernation downtown. Retail spending from the suburban commuters will grow, of course, but only to fulfill the roll of supportive revenue. The restaurants, clubs, lounges, variety & novelty stores, high end shops will be the choices of out-of-towners.

[vman]

I have never had the impression that the very expensive retailers in downtown Dallas were intended to be marketed to/shopped by office workers or local residents even. I always assumed they were there for the tourists (both international and from both East and West Texas) who fill up the hotel rooms which are not filled by conventioneers. I worked at NorthPark many years ago and a very large contingent of customers were international tourists who had been bussed to the mall by hotels like Aldophus, etc back in the day. This tradition probably continues via Uber or car service today from the boutique hotels downtown. In addition, I have always assumed most of these retailers business comes from 'private' shoppers and mail order. These tourists would continue to buy even after they return home. If you can afford and are accustomed to the offerings sold here, once you return to Midland or Tyler, the merchandise at your local Belk just won't cut it.

If always thought the upscale shopping downtown was intended to lure people to downtown. Downtown needs destination shopping. The office workers may shop at a downtown Gap or Macy's on their lunch break...or they may just shop at the Gap or Macy's closer to their home. Few people are going to come downtown to shop at a store like Target, but even I drove from Irving to check out Forty Five Ten..and yes, I bought something.

[ContriveDallasite]

There was a beautiful shopping center right in the center of Salt Lake City when I went there.

Something like that would do great on the north side of downtown. Bonus points if it were connected to Klyde Warren Park with that weird cat-walk extension they announced a while back.

[DPatel304]

I'd love for Downtown to become a shopping destination as well, but it's hard to compete with Northpark, which isn't all that far away. It doesn't help that there is also West Village and Highland Park village not too far away.

I'm not sure where it would make the most sense to have a shopping destination downtown, but towards the south near the Farmer's market would be kinda cool, just so The Shed could act as the food court for the shops.

[R1070]

Downtown needs more laid back spots for people to eat. Where's the Chili's? Cheesecake Factory? Rainforest Cafe? Things that families going to parks can take their kids to. Not everything should be upscale downtown. It needs to be a good mix like the restaurant mix at the San Antonio River Walk or downtown Fort Worth.

[muncien]

I concur... ^^^
I've been begging for a Snuffers downtown...

[lakewoodhobo]

I think Mudhen and Ellen's are laid-back and affordable, not to mention better than those examples. Downtown still has a TGI Friday's that seems to do well, but I haven't been in the 10 years I've lived in Dallas.

[mdg109]

With all the hotels opening soon, and the HRT station, I'm really hoping we get some stores downtown that are only found in big cities like Topshop/Topman, Uniqlo, CB2, etc. Also, I would hate for downtown to be filled with chains that can be found in every single suburb in America (Chili's, Cheesecake Factory, Cheddar's, Razoo's)... that's so downtown Fort Worth.

[DallasMan]

CB2 would be incredible, but if the precedent continues, the new-to-Dallas outposts of cool home furnishing stores will all go to Knox/Henderson. Anxious to see if Room and Board pulls the trigger on Knox. Other than the Design District, I also think destination stores like CB2 or Room and Board would also do well in the Cedars on Lamar, which is downtown-ish.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

What's up with the Elm Street cooridor rehab project? I saw activity this morning at the site...

It seems like this project has been going on for years ...When is it supposed to be done?

IMG_20170131_142333.jpg

[dukemeredith]

What's up with the Elm Street cooridor rehab project? I saw activity this morning at the site...

It seems like this project has been going on for years ...When is it supposed to be done?

It's really delayed...

Someone connected with the project claimed recently on the Downtown Residents Council Facebook page that their progress has been impeded by the city. Apparently they used to have a lane closure permit to haul stuff in and out. Now they only have the lane closure permit on weekends, so you can imagine how much that slows things down.

[Tnexster]

Okay......how would that happen?

[dd_dweller]

I was walking to CVS today and noticed that the store next to chase bank has closed and moved to bishop arts. Is third rail raising the rent or is something bigger coming to that corner?

[dukemeredith]

Okay......how would that happen?

I'm only the messenger, so I can only speculate how it would happen.

[dfwcre8tive]

Okay......how would that happen?

It may be connected to Thanksgiving Tower's renovation. I believe only one side of the block can be closed at one time. Thanksgiving Tower reworked their Pacific Avenue side before moving to the Elm Street side.

[Jbarn]

If it hadn't taken them three years to get where they are now, not even close to complete, this wouldn't have mattered.

[cowboyeagle05]

As of this morning, Thanksgiving Tower has completed its Elm street side redo. Sadly they put in smaller trees on the Elm street side versus the Pacific side.

I imagine the retail next to Chase bank just wanted a better spot. It was in the basement and so far I've only seen one successful basement use along Main Street and it's not open during the day. Frankies uses the basement for evening service only. The Nightclub that was in the basement next to it has closed and reopened many times. I doubt that small independent retail in the spot next to Chase had a lot of success despite being in a high traffic area.

[muncien]

O bar used to have a great basement setup and did solid business back in the day. I know what is there now is far better, but it was sad to see it go.

Who is it that is supposed to be in the basement of Elm Street Fire Corridor? Was it the Londoner? Is that still in the mix?

[Tivo_Kenevil]

O bar used to have a great basement setup and did solid business back in the day. I know what is there now is far better, but it was sad to see it go.

Who is it that is supposed to be in the basement of Elm Street Fire Corridor? Was it the Londoner? Is that still in the mix?

I hope not...We already have that new Irish place nearby. And let's be honest... English and Irish Food is the same thing... There I said it.. lol

But in all seriousness, something more original would probably be better in that spot. What I really want is that Mudsmith to open there. I hope that one is still happening.

[dukemeredith]

Now that the exterior renovations of Thanksgiving Tower are complete, I can't wait for the new retail spaces to open up!

It'll be interesting to see how Ascension and Mudsmith (if they're still signed on) will compete with one another.

[willyk]

I see that Urban Farmhouse has taken a huge chunk of the new retail space that faces the Market building at the Farmers Market.

What a win for the developer group. This will bring an entirely different demographic of shopper into the development. The Fixer Upper Waco Wannabes will be down here very weekend.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

The Chase bank branch at 1415 Main Is closing and will be consolidated with the another Chase branch at 1700 Pacific Ave on 04/06/2017.

Hopefully some nice retail comes to main.

[dallaz]

It would be nice to see H&M or some other speciality retailer, take over the old Jos. A. Bank space across from Neiman's on Commerce. Since, full line department stores aren't doing so well (especially among millennials), I could see smaller more affordable clothing retailers along Main and Commerce near Neiman's and Forty Five Ten working well. (depending on the type of retailer)

There's nothing wrong with upscale retailers, but I would like to see more retail that appeals to a larger demographic, which can attract more people.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Get a buffalo exchange in there.

[mdg109]

Side note: I noticed all the Fireside Pies signage has been removed from the Commerce St location. The space looks like it's ready to be finished up. Is FP still moving in?

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Side note: I noticed all the Fireside Pies signage has been removed from the Commerce St location. The space looks like it's ready to be finished up. Is FP still moving in?

Last I checked they were to opens
In April .