Future direction of the West End

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On a recent tour of the West End Historic District, restaurateur Jay Kahn pointed out the many vacant storefronts.

“They moved,” Kahn said, pointing to the Market Street property that once housed Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse.

“They're gone,” he said, gesturing toward the Gators' Dallas site.

“It's closed,” he added, pointing to the site of the Oasis restaurant.

Of course, some companies are stuck. These include YO Ranch Steakhouse and Kern's own RJ Mexican Cuisine. But decades of departures are now compounded by a significant drop in tourists and safety concerns.

The West End's challenges are not new. Landowners and business interests have been concerned about the area's decline since its heyday in the 1980s and '90s. However, several issues have now come to the fore and many in the region are calling for a new approach.

Khan entered the West End more than 20 years ago with the opening of RJ Mexican Cuisine. He currently owns four of his restaurants on the same street: 3Eleven Kitchen and Cocktails, Chet's Dallas, and the newly added Zariam's Steakhouse.

Khan is optimistic about the West End's potential and is focused on plans to open three more concepts this year. One will take over the old Sonny Bryan space, and the other will replace the adjacent Oasis. Khan declined to give details about the location of the third restaurant, but the company could have seven restaurants along Market Street by the end of 2024.

Khan said he has already invested about $10 million into the current restaurant. Add in the three he's still planning, and he'll be worth nearly $30 million, up from $25 million.

Liam's previous experience cost between $800,000 and $900,000, he told Khan, illustrating some of the struggles in the field.

“My profit margins aren’t that high right now,” he said. “But I've lived here for 30-odd years now, and I don't plan on leaving this area any time soon. That's why I'm so committed to this area.”

The West End Historic District occupies approximately 30 blocks, or approximately 67 acres, on the western edge of downtown Dallas. There are many converted warehouse offices, shops, and restaurants, as well as hotels, apartments, museums, and landmarks. It's a major tourist attraction, from memorials to Kennedy's assassination, such as the Sixth Floor Museum, to family-friendly attractions, such as the Dallas Aquarium and Museum of Illusions, and the Dallas Museum of the Holocaust and Human Rights.

“These museums have kept us afloat,” said Philip, president and executive director of the West End Association, a group of merchants and real estate professionals who work to promote the economic health of the region. Honoré said.

The area could greatly benefit from the nearly $3 billion redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

But during that time, businesses that rely heavily on tourists have seen a noticeable drop in traffic. Honoré said the region, which previously had about 6 million visitors a year, now sees about 2 million. People in the West End are blaming it on the coronavirus pandemic and legitimately exaggerated perceptions of the area's safety.

The West End Association and Downtown Dallas Inc. are working on a marketing plan to promote the area to Dallas residents who may have forgotten it exists. The nonprofit wants to hold more family-friendly events to draw more people. Additionally, Honoré believes the West End has lost some of its appeal to local residents due to a lack of retail options.

“My suggestion to property owners is…people like to shop, eat and relax, so there needs to be some retail,” he said.

The organizations are also launching a $500,000 project to increase street lighting in the area and increase security patrols.

“If people feel safe, they will come to businesses,” Honoré said.

The West End champions are finding a way forward. The district has many advantages. This includes the fact that it has a rich history and was developed in the early 20th century, before cars were popular, so it's more walkable than most parts of downtown.

Due to its proximity to the railroad, the West End developed as a factory and warehouse district in the 1910s. Supplies were distributed from that area to other parts of Dallas.

But around mid-century, the West End's prominence waned as city and state leaders prioritized highway systems. And after President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dealey Plaza in 1963, the West End, not to mention Dallas, became indelibly associated with one of the darkest chapters in American history. .

In the aftermath of the assassination, many civic leaders advocated for the demolition of buildings associated with the national tragedy, according to a timeline on the West End Association's website. However, Mayor Erik Jonsson, prominent merchant Stanley Marcus, and others argued for preserving the history these buildings represented.

In 1975, the City of Dallas officially designated the area as a historic district, preventing high-rise development and planting the seeds of a tourist destination.

In the 1980s, the district developed into an entertainment hub with hotspots such as the famous Starck Club, Planet Hollywood, and Cinema 10.

That glitz and glamor started to fade in the 1990s, and there was a lot of hand-wringing over what to do with it. In the early 2000s, the historic district partnered with his DDI to improve the urban landscape by repairing roads and sidewalks and encouraging housing development.

There were a lot of grand plans for the West End. Several years ago, the Dallas Innovation Alliance pushed for the creation of an innovation district that would repurpose historic buildings and warehouses into office space and turn parking lots into parks. While some large corporate tenants call this area home, West End Square has replaced old surface lots with handsome pocket parks and public meeting spaces.

In 2015, Plano-based Granite Properties purchased the 1903 brick and wood building at Munger Avenue and North Record Street. Decades ago, the building housed Brown Cracker and Candy Co. and later Sunshine Biscuit Co. The real estate company led $77 million in funding. The redevelopment transformed the property into a modern office building while preserving its historic character. Now known as Factory Six03, major tenants include C1 Innovation Lab in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Sam's Club technology hub, and coworking provider Common Desk. The area is also home to new developments like The Luminary, a 169,000 square foot office building that opened in 2019.

Granite Properties senior managing director Paul Bennett called Factory Six 03, which is 90% leased, an exemplary success story. But he agreed that the biggest challenge to promoting the area starts with increasing retail footfall.

Despite its long history, some West End boosters feel the area is being ignored by City Hall.

“One of the first things the people involved said to me was that they felt like they were the stepchildren of downtown and felt ignored,” Honoré told the association in 2020. He recalled when he participated in the event. “They felt like they didn't get as much attention as other parts of downtown.” [receive]. …I said it can be fixed. ”

The city of Dallas did not respond to a request for comment.

Sharissa Perry, Downtown Group's chief marketing officer, said DDI supports Honoré and others' vision to revitalize the West End.

“We work with stakeholders to truly help realize their vision,” she said. “We are very careful to plan with the district, rather than planning for the district.”

There is a possibility that new life may dwell inside a large, empty building. The space of the old Stark Club, a building just north of the Woodall Rogers Freeway that actually dates back to the late 1800s, is up for sale as an opportunity for renovation/expansion or redevelopment. ing.

The former Spaghetti Warehouse building, which has been vacant since the restaurant closed in 2019 after 47 years, is attracting interest from property owners.

Honoré said it would be “really helpful” to the district to have the building “restored and operational.” He said plans are being considered and something could happen within 12 to 18 months. He didn't know what the building would be used for next, but he never thought it would become a restaurant.

Although the West End has seen many eras, Kahn and Honoré have created a neighborhood filled with family-friendly activities, lively stores and restaurants, thriving businesses, and a neighborhood that balances history with Dallas' constant development pressures. And I believe that the best is yet to come. They want to see neighborhoods thrive and prosper, not just survive.

Honoré called the West End “the gateway to the city.”

“It tells a story, and that story matters,” he said.