Kelley USA wrote:I have been to National Anthem a number of times. Always packed when we go, reservations definitely recommended. But to be honest, we generally just eat and leave. No reason to really stick around the area, and for safety reasons, we'd prefer not to walk over to Deep Ellum at night. But parking is easy to get in and out.
Respectfully - I'd like to address some of the comments about 1) Restaurants/retail and 2) Safety i've read in this thread. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read it:
1) Restaurants: firstly, the numbers I'm seeing here are wrong. More on that in a minute. Nick Badovinus is "the man" locally and what makes him so successful are his Placemaking skills. Not just the vibe of his spaces, but also his long game vision about the parts of town he commits to. That says a lot in and of itself because he does not miss. Fun Fact: did you know that he is more invested in East Quarter than just 3 restaurants - he is literally invested in the whole area. Literally, can't say much more than that. He has National Anthem and Brass Ram open in the flatiron magnolia building. PopTop, the rooftop deck, will open in the spring. It's fully built and ready to go, but you dont open an open air spot in Winter.
In addition to his 3 spots, East Quarter has:
Etta (the WhatIf Syndicate guys from Chicago; pretty successful at Monarch and Kessaku; buildout under way. 3Q23 opening);
Muchacho Tex/Mex (opens 4Q23);
Sushi | Bar (speakeasy omekase; from montecito, and also killing it in Austin; construction underway, 3Q23);
Cafe Sophie (also the WhatIf guys; an all day European cafe - think Foxtrot; 4Q23). That's
7 Restaurants with diverse menus and price points, and more to come. And the operators are literally the best in the business.
2) Safety: I have reviewed the DPD Incident Reports for all of the Reporting Areas that make up East Quarter. I've done the same for Uptown, Deep Ellum, Design District, CBD/Main Street, Farmers Market etc. Painstaking and line by line. Did you know that EQ, per DPD data, is significantly safer than Uptown in all categories?
2022 data... M-F from 6am to 8pm: BMV + Stolen Cars...65 in EQ. Uptown - depending on area it's anywhere from 150-200 BMV+Stolen Cars. For dangerous crimes against people (Robbery, Assault)...4 in EQ. Uptown - depending on area it's in the 14-17 range. This is all adjusted for density differences to be fair to these other non-EQ areas. And if you dont filter the data at all..7 days a week, 24/7, any type of Incident/Offense, the data is still more favorable for EQ.
Which makes sense, if anyone's been watching/reading the news. More headlines about crime in Uptown than Deep Ellum. Google it if you don't believe me. For the same reasons as DE...Uptown's gotten a lot more clubby. Ask a young woman who lives there where she goes out for dinners, bars etc,, it ain't uptown. It's dark, not
really walkable (i.e. exposed). The sidewalks at EQ are all 12' wide and I think the night lighting is pretty adequate. Also, there are no tall buildings, i.e. places where bad guys can do bad things and not get caught. EQ has none. It's the Jane Jacobs premise defined.
Also, Harwood Park opens in 2-3 months. Carpenter Park opened last Summer. etc. Diversity of place surrounds EQ. Churches, Farmers Market (massive gentrification - people with skin in the game, AT&T DD, Retail like Neiman's, law school, montessori school...poster child for Urbanism design.
Thanks for taking the time to review this, and i accept that there will still be differing POV's. But that's what we're here for, right? Healthy discussions!