Downtown Dallas Retail

[cowboyeagle05]

I saw that lots of Downtown residents got up this morning and started help clean up. COVID has made so many of those businesses suffer financially and now this. My parents voted for Trump but even they knew what happened to that man was wrong but damaging private businesses doesn't help the cause at all.

[Tucy]

Wow, two businesses that are already teetering on the brink (Forty-five Ten and Nieman Marcus). It is not inconceivable this sort of thing could finish off the downtown locations for each.

[cowboyeagle05]

I am less worried about Neiman Marcus and Forty-five ten. I am more worried about all the smaller businesses there were badly hit. Dude Sweet moved all their stuff out of the new Downtown store fearing more damage tonight. The Pet supplies store Downtown Paws was hit too. Neiman's has filed for bankruptcy and Forty-Five Ten hasn't even reopened because Headington let go of all the employees go. Royal Blue was hit as was CVS too but Dallas police chased out the looters before they really made off with anything.

Most store fronts will have plywood windows by the end of day and will look like the empty downtown we used to know.

[Mgreen15]

More looting again tonight. The CVS and Subway are a few of tonight’s casualties. After the destruction that occurred during last nights riots, why wouldn’t you just block off access to EMC streets at night for the remainder of the weekend? Or set a mandated curfew?

[CTroyMathis]

Today I noticed some of the rally/protesters kicked out potential looters at the 7-Eleven (which is boarded-up) under Doug's Gym.

Also, now this evening, much if not all of 1401 Elm's barricades have been re-arranged for a possible base camp across Elm St. Or some such use. . .

[eburress]

More looting again tonight. The CVS and Subway are a few of tonight’s casualties. After the destruction that occurred during last nights riots, why wouldn’t you just block off access to EMC streets at night for the remainder of the weekend? Or set a mandated curfew?

Yeah, I don't understand how or why this is allowed to happen. The mayor, police, etc clearly have little control over the situation.

[rono3849]

Sadly, this is the same pattern being repeated across America. From Atlanta to Chicago to New York to LA to Seattle, the looters & criminals have been able to wreck havoc in Downtown areas and adjacent neighborhoods. Downtown, Deep Ellum, Victory Park, & Uptown appear to the be the primary targets of this organized chaos. The local governments & police departments are inept and have lost control, which they never really had. They had no preparation for this onslaught. I guess the National Guard will be called in by Abbott here, Austin, & Houston. What a disaster for our country.

[cowboyeagle05]

I listened to the police scanner till about 3 am for the central region and it was mostly silent last night. I had friends who participated in the day time events and a few enjoyed the night time events as well Saturday. They were going on and on about how much a community event this is...

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Not enough police presence. And the city should have had designated areas for the protest. The EMC should have been closed off.

[eburress]

A theme I've noticed across the US is that the majority of the rioters aren't local to the particular city they're destroying, and haven't actually been a part of the protests, just the violence that followed. Listening to the Dallas police chief's press conference yesterday, she said that these criminals are being bussed in (from other parts of TX) which seems consistent with what's happening in other cities. So between that and the mysterious palettes of bricks which were delivered to protest sites in various cities, who's organizing and/or paying for this and to what end?

[rono3849]

A theme I've noticed across the US is that the majority of the rioters aren't local to the particular city they're destroying, and haven't actually been a part of the protests, just the violence that followed. Listening to the Dallas police chief's press conference yesterday, she said that these criminals are being bussed in (from other parts of TX) which seems consistent with what's happening in other cities. So between that and the mysterious palettes of bricks which were delivered to protest sites in various cities, who's organizing and/or paying for this and to what end?

George Soros & his accomplices.

[uptown74]

So between that and the mysterious palettes of bricks which were delivered to protest sites in various cities, who's organizing and/or paying for this and to what end?

Central Track says those bricks (near Victory Park at least) have been there since February ....

[emmasensei]

Yeah, contractors just leave supplies strewn on sidewalks for months on end in this town. There were bricks (and piles of wires, and trash, and plastic wrapping on the ADA-compliant curbs, and even entire street signs which could be an interesting projectile in a storm...) alongside Henderson Ave for weeks in January/Feburary before they finally stuck them in the sidewalks. I haven't seen any convincing evidence of a greater brick conspiracy beyond Dallas contractors who don't have enough accountability to clean up after themselves. David Blewett, D14 rep, is talking about this in detail on his Facebook page.

[eburress]

Yeah, there was an excuse for the palette of bricks found near Frisco's protest today as well (a nearby HOA-related project).

[TNWE]

Yeah, contractors just leave supplies strewn on sidewalks for months on end in this town. There were bricks (and piles of wires, and trash, and plastic wrapping on the ADA-compliant curbs, and even entire street signs which could be an interesting projectile in a storm...) alongside Henderson Ave for weeks in January/Feburary before they finally stuck them in the sidewalks. I haven't seen any convincing evidence of a greater brick conspiracy beyond Dallas contractors who don't have enough accountability to clean up after themselves. David Blewett, D14 rep, is talking about this in detail on his Facebook page.

Like so many conspiracy theories in our modern internet age, "the bricks were staged" made several trips around the world before the truth even had a chance to put its pants on.

Of course, if there weren't numerous videos of rioters happening upon these piles of abandoned construction materials and using them to smash windows or as projectiles to throw at police, the conspiracy theory never even gets off the ground. Kudos to Frisco PD for quickly removing the bricks, but shame on Dallas PD and others who failed to mitigate the danger. I'm sure they were worried about getting hit more claims of police brutality, but the second someone at a protest picks up a brick, they've waived any claim to being peaceful and more importantly, undermined the entire cause.

[Tucy]

So... is Forty-Five Ten effectively dead? They are not even open virtually any longer. Their website now consists of a single page with some mumbo-jumbo about remaining "closed due to regional restrictions". (As far as I know there are no "regional restrictions", stopping them from being open.)

[cowboyeagle05]

My understanding was that all employees were let go, not furloughed but permanently let go and that includes online stuff too. The only retail I thought that had reopened was stuff that Headington wasn't running under his company and the Joule itself. How many of the restaurants reopened?

[R1070]

I wish this building could be incorporated into a larger mixed use building that would take up the back parking lot and eye ball park. Both are just not good for that space.

[mdg109]

Looks like this one might be opening soon.

[cowboyeagle05]

I hope they are able to make a decent splash here its so much on the edge of progress its been hard to lease the space to anyone.

[mdg109]

La Tarte Tropezienne opened this weekend. I stopped by twice Saturday and Sunday, and both times it was pretty busy. This shot was taken close to 9pm on a Sunday night.

[mdg109]

The section closest to The Majestic finally has the windows uncovered. There's still the whole dining room facing Harwood that is still being worked on.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

The section closest to The Majestic finally has the windows uncovered. There's still the whole dining room facing Harwood that is still being worked on.

What's this place supposed to be?

[mdg109]

It's a restaurant/bar: truekitchenkocktails.com

[Cbdallas]

Unfortunately for me spelling cocktails with a K is not going to make me run in there to check it out.

[LBK2013]

Unfortunately for me spelling cocktails with a K is not going to make me run in there to check it out.

What if they call it True Citchen Kocktails?

[cowboyeagle05]

I doubt the K spelling of cocktails will be the biggest issue they will face so no worries.

[FuturePlan]

I went to True Kitchen + Kocktails for their grand opening weekend and it was great despite the issues that come with grand openings and such. A beautiful interior with multiple spaces and good food, drinks, and music. My understanding is that they are booked via reservations until sometime in September (though I did hear single reservations are still available here and there).

Also, the "K" in Kocktails may be an ode to the Fraternity that the owner is a member of...not for sure but that's my guess. I also think the General Manager told me that they would be open for lunch this week, so ill probably pop in from my office too.

[vman]

I went to True Kitchen + Kocktails for their grand opening weekend and it was great despite the issues that come with grand openings and such. A beautiful interior with multiple spaces and good food, drinks, and music. My understanding is that they are booked via reservations until sometime in September (though I did hear single reservations are still available here and there).

Also, the "K" in Kocktails may be an ode to the Fraternity that the owner is a member of...not for sure but that's my guess. I also think the General Manager told me that they would be open for lunch this week, so ill probably pop in from my office too.

A couple of friends of mine with this weekend and really loved the place. Like you, I'll probably pop in for lunch during the week.
Also, it's so good to see this building's retail space utilized. I remember reading an article about the owner's law firm going into the building a few years ago. I'm glad he's putting resources into his building and bringing it to life.

[DPatel304]

I did my usual walk through Downtown today for the first time in months and, despite the weather being pretty perfect, much of Downtown felt pretty dead to me.

Victory Park was a ghost town, as was the West End, and Main Street also felt pretty dead as well. Fortunately the Discovery District was bustling with activity and the nearby Pegasus Brewery was decently busy as well. A handful of other restaurants that I passed were decently busy as well, but it really felt like COVID has set Downtown back several years. Hopefully I just went on an off day and this isn't the norm, but pre-COVID I would usually through these same areas on a nice day like today and it felt a lot more lively than it did today.

I'm still very optimistic about the future of Downtown, but I do feel like it may continue to struggle for the next several months.

[JDumont146]

I did my usual walk through Downtown today for the first time in months and, despite the weather being pretty perfect, much of Downtown felt pretty dead to me.

Victory Park was a ghost town, as was the West End, and Main Street also felt pretty dead as well. Fortunately the Discovery District was bustling with activity and the nearby Pegasus Brewery was decently busy as well. A handful of other restaurants that I passed were decently busy as well, but it really felt like COVID has set Downtown back several years. Hopefully I just went on an off day and this isn't the norm, but pre-COVID I would usually through these same areas on a nice day like today and it felt a lot more lively than it did today.

I'm still very optimistic about the future of Downtown, but I do feel like it may continue to struggle for the next several months.

That's so weird! I went on a run through Victory Park yesterday afternoon around 1 and walked with the fam around Main Street/AT&T Discovery yesterday around 4 and everything felt very active. It still seemed less active than pre-COVID to you?

[Warrior2015]

I did my usual walk through Downtown today for the first time in months and, despite the weather being pretty perfect, much of Downtown felt pretty dead to me.

Victory Park was a ghost town, as was the West End, and Main Street also felt pretty dead as well. Fortunately the Discovery District was bustling with activity and the nearby Pegasus Brewery was decently busy as well. A handful of other restaurants that I passed were decently busy as well, but it really felt like COVID has set Downtown back several years. Hopefully I just went on an off day and this isn't the norm, but pre-COVID I would usually through these same areas on a nice day like today and it felt a lot more lively than it did today.

I'm still very optimistic about the future of Downtown, but I do feel like it may continue to struggle for the next several months.

That's so weird! I went on a run through Victory Park yesterday afternoon around 1 and walked with the fam around Main Street/AT&T Discovery yesterday around 4 and everything felt very active. It still seemed less active than pre-COVID to you?

Honestly most cities downtown areas are a bit dead since mid March. What sucks here, is that we were finally getting a vibrant core with tons of mixed use hotels etc on the way and then BOOM Covid-19 happened which will delay alot of new projects and vibrancy etc for a few years i believe.

[mdg109]

I did a walk through yesterday evening as well, and I felt there was a steady amount of pedestrian activity all over downtown. I focused around EMC. I left feeling very optimistic bc there was a steady flow of pedestrians coming and going to/from AT&T DD, downtown overall was pretty clean (including the parks), there were a lot fewer visible homeless, and the patios that were open had some level of activity. It's definitely not "vibrant" right now, but I wouldn't necessarily say dead either. Removing the scooters (for better or worse) has also affected the number of people downtown as well.

[DPatel304]

I'm glad to hear that my experience isn't the norm. Perhaps I just happened to be walking during a random 'off' time (I was out walking at around 3ish on Sunday)?

I know it's reasonable to expect some decrease in activity, but it just seemed a lot more dead than I expected. Perhaps I'll do another walk some other day and see if my experience is any different, it sounds like everyone else is still seeing a decent amount of activity which is good.

[DPatel304]

I did my usual walk through Downtown today for the first time in months and, despite the weather being pretty perfect, much of Downtown felt pretty dead to me.

Victory Park was a ghost town, as was the West End, and Main Street also felt pretty dead as well. Fortunately the Discovery District was bustling with activity and the nearby Pegasus Brewery was decently busy as well. A handful of other restaurants that I passed were decently busy as well, but it really felt like COVID has set Downtown back several years. Hopefully I just went on an off day and this isn't the norm, but pre-COVID I would usually through these same areas on a nice day like today and it felt a lot more lively than it did today.

I'm still very optimistic about the future of Downtown, but I do feel like it may continue to struggle for the next several months.

I decided to walk the same route again yesterday and Victory Park, the West End, and Downtown all felt pretty dead to me still. Granted, the weather wasn't all that great, and I was walking around at about noon, so perhaps it was just the bad weather and the timing. The Discovery District had a handful of people but, again, I think I was just out a little bit too early and the weather was a bit gloomy.

I'm really pleased with the progress I've seen on the West End park and it looks like the East Quarter is coming together nicely as well, which definitely makes me look forward to how active Downtown will be in the next year or so.

[Jbarn]

I did my usual walk through Downtown today for the first time in months and, despite the weather being pretty perfect, much of Downtown felt pretty dead to me.

Victory Park was a ghost town, as was the West End, and Main Street also felt pretty dead as well. Fortunately the Discovery District was bustling with activity and the nearby Pegasus Brewery was decently busy as well. A handful of other restaurants that I passed were decently busy as well, but it really felt like COVID has set Downtown back several years. Hopefully I just went on an off day and this isn't the norm, but pre-COVID I would usually through these same areas on a nice day like today and it felt a lot more lively than it did today.

I'm still very optimistic about the future of Downtown, but I do feel like it may continue to struggle for the next several months.

I decided to walk the same route again yesterday and Victory Park, the West End, and Downtown all felt pretty dead to me still. Granted, the weather wasn't all that great, and I was walking around at about noon, so perhaps it was just the bad weather and the timing. The Discovery District had a handful of people but, again, I think I was just out a little bit too early and the weather was a bit gloomy.

I'm really pleased with the progress I've seen on the West End park and it looks like the East Quarter is coming together nicely as well, which definitely makes me look forward to how active Downtown will be in the next year or so.

I am beginning to think that no matter how “walkable” certain areas of Dallas become, there will never be much pedestrian activity, as Dallas will never be a “walking” city. With the number of residents, hotels, businesses etc.... downtown, there is absolutely no reason why the streets should be so devoid of people. Even pre-Covid, the streets were never that busy, except during the m-f lunch hour. If downtown is not more vibrant with street activity despite all the development that has taken place down there in the last several years, then I think it never will be at this point.

[DPatel304]

I disagree. Pre-covid, there were certainly times when Main Street felt busy enough to feel like you're walking in any other major city and the Farmer's Market is teeming with people on the weekends (during the day).

I really do think in five years time, the EMC corridor, the West End, and the East Quarter will have enough consistent activity to feel like any other major city. The Discovery District feels like it's already there, and I think that area will continue to draw more and more people as time goes on too.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

I did my usual walk through Downtown today for the first time in months and, despite the weather being pretty perfect, much of Downtown felt pretty dead to me.

Victory Park was a ghost town, as was the West End, and Main Street also felt pretty dead as well. Fortunately the Discovery District was bustling with activity and the nearby Pegasus Brewery was decently busy as well. A handful of other restaurants that I passed were decently busy as well, but it really felt like COVID has set Downtown back several years. Hopefully I just went on an off day and this isn't the norm, but pre-COVID I would usually through these same areas on a nice day like today and it felt a lot more lively than it did today.

I'm still very optimistic about the future of Downtown, but I do feel like it may continue to struggle for the next several months.

I decided to walk the same route again yesterday and Victory Park, the West End, and Downtown all felt pretty dead to me still. Granted, the weather wasn't all that great, and I was walking around at about noon, so perhaps it was just the bad weather and the timing. The Discovery District had a handful of people but, again, I think I was just out a little bit too early and the weather was a bit gloomy.

I'm really pleased with the progress I've seen on the West End park and it looks like the East Quarter is coming together nicely as well, which definitely makes me look forward to how active Downtown will be in the next year or so.

I am beginning to think that no matter how “walkable” certain areas of Dallas become, there will never be much pedestrian activity, as Dallas will never be a “walking” city. With the number of residents, hotels, businesses etc.... downtown, there is absolutely no reason why the streets should be so devoid of people. Even pre-Covid, the streets were never that busy, except during the m-f lunch hour. If downtown is not more vibrant with street activity despite all the development that has taken place down there in the last several years, then I think it never will be at this point.

The main thing ingredient for Vibrancy is people. Right now there's around 12k ppl living in downtown. Double that number and you'll definitely start seeing more activity through out all parts of the day.

[DPatel304]

It helps that we have a decent population living in some of the adjacent neighborhoods as well. I'm sure one some of the developments in the arts district come to completion and the KWP expansion is complete, you'll get more people walking (or taking the trolley) over from the Uptown side into Downtown.

This will also be true as Deep Ellum and East Quarter develop more and make I-345 less of a barrier, hopefully we'll see more people walking between the two areas and bringing more foot traffic into Downtown.

[exelone31]

I feel like the completion of the new parks will certainly help with that as well. KWP has been enormous in getting a consistent level of pedestrian activity in that area (IMO, I'm not down there all the time, but when I am it is busy).

If you think about it, the following areas have not really been able to breathe in a non-COVID environment just yet:
- Pacific Plaza Park
- Discovery District
- West End Park (underway)
- Carpenter Park (underway)
- Jackson Park (about to start?)

With those public spaces alone, I think we're going to see a very different environment in downtown Dallas once the fog of the pandemic raises.

[THRILLHO]

Looking back at the past couple decades can it be argued that any year has ever been lower than the one before it in terms of pedestrian traffic? I feel it has only become busier over time. Slowly, for sure, but steadily nonetheless. Walking around Dallas today is a far cry from how I remember it in the 2000s, which is to say nothing about the ghost town that was 1990s downtown Dallas. A pandemic year would understandably be slow outside.

Part of the problem as I see it now is that we still mostly have pockets of walkability rather than a cohesive network of walkable neighborhoods. Neighborhoods continue feeling like islands. These islands all have boundaries that a wandering pedestrian would only cross if they truly had a purpose to do so.

You need a sense of potential exploration to drive foot traffic, a sense of "I wonder where this street will take me" instead of "ah, there's just parking lots, imposing garages, and crumbling sidewalks down this way, I guess I'll turn around."

- Jackson Park (about to start?)

Where is this one? I'm unfamiliar with it.

[DPatel304]

Looking back at the past couple decades can it be argued that any year has ever been lower than the one before it in terms of pedestrian traffic? I feel it has only become busier over time. Slowly, for sure, but steadily nonetheless. Walking around Dallas today is a far cry from how I remember it in the 2000s, which is to say nothing about the ghost town that was 1990s downtown Dallas. A pandemic year would understandably be slow outside.

Part of the problem as I see it now is that we still mostly have pockets of walkability rather than a cohesive network of walkable neighborhoods. Neighborhoods continue feeling like islands. These islands all have boundaries that a wandering pedestrian would only cross if they truly had a purpose to do so.

You need a sense of potential exploration to drive foot traffic, a sense of "I wonder where this street will take me" instead of "ah, there's just parking lots, imposing garages, and crumbling sidewalks down this way, I guess I'll turn around."

I agree with both of your points. Dallas is definitely on the uptrend and has been for decades now and I don't think that is changing. It definitely does feel slow, but we have a decent sized urban area that we're trying to fill and a lot of empty land and empty buildings to fill.

I also agree with you about the islands, and this is true both inside the CBD and outside. It seems like walking from one island to another island is a bit of a foreign concept in Dallas and a lot of that is likely because our islands are not easy to traverse. I can definitely see the different 'islands' in Downtown slowly inching closer towards each other and hopefully in the next 5-10 years our Downtown will feel a lot more cohesive. I'm hoping the East Quarter ends up being a successful 'island', because that could really help bridge the gap between the Farmer's Market and the EMC corridor. I do think that the activity from the Discovery District will start spilling over to Main street post-COVID, as those areas are extremely close and pretty well connected.

Where is this one? I'm unfamiliar with it.

Perhaps they meant Harwood Park?

[dd_dweller]

Will the National be adding retail to the base of the tower? I haven’t read anything about any retail being signed to this project. I remember old renderings adding national brands but haven’t heard anything since the new owners took it over. Hopefully they’ll be able to attract some stores that aren’t just high end.

[exelone31]

Where is this one? I'm unfamiliar with it.

Perhaps they meant Harwood Park?

Yep, you are right, I meant Harwood Park! Was thinking of it being on Jackson and Harwood. Good spot

[Matt777]

Will the National be adding retail to the base of the tower? I haven’t read anything about any retail being signed to this project. I remember old renderings adding national brands but haven’t heard anything since the new owners took it over. Hopefully they’ll be able to attract some stores that aren’t just high end.

It will have 25,000 square feet of retail space at the base. Significant amounts of the first floor space will be taken up by residential and hotel lobbies, and space for Downtown Dallas Inc.,

[DPatel304]

Have there been any announcements on tenants for any of these spaces, or are they all vacant at the moment?

That's a solid amount of additional retail for this area, and it'll be nice once they are all filled up.

[dukemeredith]

In addition to the hotel, the building will include more than three hundred luxury apartments, two restaurants opening this month (with two more on the way), and a florist, a barber, and a Lucchese boutique.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/fir ... -building/

The Lucchese store is next to the Akard-facing hotel entrance.

[Matt777]

Have there been any announcements on tenants for any of these spaces, or are they all vacant at the moment?

That's a solid amount of additional retail for this area, and it'll be nice once they are all filled up.

I haven't seen anything released but how nice would it be to get one of Target's mini urban stores in Retail Space D? It is a double story 8,400 sqft space, so 16,800 sqft would be within the 15-20,000 sqft range of their small urban concept.

I'd like to see some of the smaller spaces focus on local brands. Maybe a Downtown outpost of Boulangerie by Village Baking Co Bakery/Cafe in C1 and a Bullzerk in space C2 facing the DART station, Eno's Pizza in C3, etc...

[mdg109]

I walked around last night around 6pm, and it was definitely quiet. Still, not as dead as in the mid 2000s. I wish Iron Cactus hadn't closed. That just left a giant hole on Main.

Agree with all the points above. I will say, though, it was unbelievably clean, and far fewer homeless than a couple months ago.

I'm glad the Discovery District is a draw, but besides that and restaurants, there isn't much for people to do in the downtown core. I think smaller scale retail would really help with downtown activity.

[mdg109]

I'm not sure when this was put up, but I'm pretty sure it's fairly recent: 609 Harwood
I also noticed the space where Cafe Izmir is/was (Alto 211) is getting renovated.