By Lori Stacy
It's hard to imagine thebrtype of store or restaurant that Southlake lacks. Whatever your need, desire orbrtaste, it's likely that you won't have to venture far from home to get it.brNearly every type of cuisine is represented here, from American-style (thinkbrRedrock Canyon Grill) to Thai and Vietnamese (think Malai Kitchen). Looking forbra fitness class? Places in Southlake can indulge your desire to work out at thebrbarre (Pure Barre) or try cardio cycling (ZYN22). And stores from Lauren Jamesbrto Kendra Scott have joined the already impressive list of retail outposts inbrthe city.
“My husband and I laughbrabout it,” says Lisa Fraga, who has lived in Southlake for 12 years. “Everybrtime we wish a store would come here, it usually does.” Whereas Fraga and herbrfamily used to have to drive to Dallas to go to Tyler's or Central Market, theybrnow drive less than 10 minutes from their home.
Indeed, that has been thebrgoal of the city's leaders—attracting the quantity and quality of businessesbrthat turn Southlake into a destination for both residents and visitors.
A Thriving City
“We're getting close tobrhaving every kind of shop you can imagine,” says Shannon Hamons, Southlake's economicbrdevelopment director. “A lot of what we do is vetting businesses that may orbrmay not be good fits.”
He adds: “Southlake hasbrbecome a destination in itself. The Hilton operates near capacity nearly allbrthe time.”
Perhaps that's why otherbrhotels, such as the Westin, which plans to build a 220-room property at Highwaybr114 and Carroll, and Hotel Indigo, which plans to build a 121-room boutiquebrproperty in Carillon, are heading this way.
“People in Oklahoma andbrArkansas look at Southlake as a place to spend the weekend,” says Laura Hill,brSouthlake's mayor, who credits not only the businesses for attractingbrout-of-towners, but also the popular festivals with a small-town feel, such asbrArt in the Square and Oktoberfest.
But she also realizesbrthat the small-town moniker may not work with the city much longer. Withbrroughly 29,000 residents in the city today, residential build-out is likely tobrbe reached in five to 10 years, and, as Hill points out, “We don't have thatbrmuch land left [for development].”
The newest developments,brincluding Park Village and Kimball Oaks, the 126,000-square-foot retail spacebrthat includes PGA Superstore and BJ's Brewhouse, are already reaching capacitybrin terms of tenants—something their leasing agents say wasn't too hard a sell.
But while some businessesbrare clamoring to come to Southlake, the city has lost others, such as WalmartbrNeighborhood Market, The Fresh Market, Steak 'n Shake and McDonald's.
According to both Hillbrand Hamons, though, it wasn't as much an issue of Southlake being the wrongbrfit, but rather that the businesses themselves were facing issues that hadbrnothing to do with the community.
In the case of The FreshbrMarket, which has closed all of its Texas stores, Hill even reached out to thebrgrocer's management team to help them understand Southlake a bit more.
“I called the CEO and hadbra long call with him seven or eight months ago,” she says. “I said, ‘Are you okaybrwith me being honest with you?' When he said yes, I told him, ‘You mustreach out to the community.’”
A Critical Component to Success
Hill feels strongly thatbrthe businesses that do succeed here are the ones that participate in thebrcommunity, the ones that get involved and give back.
“The successful placesbrare successful because they go above and beyond,” she says.
And as Hamons points out,br“The vacant places don't stay vacant very long.” As an example, the shutteredbrSteak 'n Shake wasn't closed for long before Pollo Tropical came in to take itsbrspot.
Hill echoes hisbrsentiments: “There is a line of businesses ready to open in Southlake.”
Additionally, some of thebrplaces that have closed in Southlake have closed for corporate reasons and notbrbecause Southlake wasn't a good fit, as with The Fresh Market and the WalmartbrNeighborhood Market, which was one of 23 such stores that Walmart closed asbrpart of a corporate decision to, as Walmart put it in a January 2016brannouncement, “ensure assets were aligned with strategy.”
Hill sees it differently:br“They didn't participate in the community.”
Contrast that with thebrbusy and popular Central Market in Southlake, which hosts wine tastings, livebrmusic on the patio and in-store food festivals that draw in residents, and youbrcan understand why Hill thinks there's more to being successful in Southlakebrthan just hanging your proverbial shingle.
Great Harvest BreadbrCompany, which opened in June, is another example of a business working tobrbecome part of the community. Even before it opened its doors, Great HarvestbrBread Company reached out to the city to find out where the bread employees madebras part of their training could be donated. And rather than follow abrstandard-format design for the restaurant, the Montana-based company gave thebrspace some Texas touches, including framed Texas flags and an old windmill.
No wonder, as Hill putsbrit, the restaurant already has a “cult-like following.”
During its grand-openingbrcelebration, Park Village—home to RA Sushi, Michael's, Sur la Table and manybrothers—donated its proceeds from the kick-off to Miracle League of Southlake,brwhich provides children with special needs the opportunity to play baseball.
Retail centers andbrrestaurants are not alone in ingratiating themselves with the community;brbusinesses that choose to locate here, as with the city's largest employer,brSabre, and the forthcoming T.D. Ameritrade, do as well.
Kim Hillyer, abrspokesperson for Ameritrade, says that community involvement is important tobrthe company. “Our employees are highly engaged and expect to get involved inbrSouthlake once we do move. There's a school across the road from the new campusbrand employees have already asked about volunteer opportunities there.”
These large corporatebrcampuses along Highway 114 have also been a contributing factor in the city'sbrretail and restaurant success, as these businesses bring not just revenue, butbremployees who shop and dine in the city, particularly during the weekday, whenbrretail traffic is lower. TD Ameritrade will welcome 1,500 employees into itsbr300,000-square-foot campus when the first phase of building has been completed,brand the Granite Properties office building being developed in Town Square nearbrHighway 114 is expected to have more than 700 employees in thebr160,000-square-foot space.
A Plan for Growth
But while the city seesbrthe economic benefits these large corporate campuses bring, some residents,brsuch as Fraga, worry about the impact they will have on neighborhood roads.brFraga lives in Kirkwood Hollow, near Sabre and the TD Ameritrade campuses. Withbrno freeway access road, her neighborhood street—Kirkwood Boulevard—has become abrthoroughfare, which concerns not only Fraga but many of the residents ofbrKirkwood Hollow, she says.
To that end, Hill isbrpushing for an eco-friendly trolley system that would shuttle people to and frombrthe various businesses and hotels in Southlake. A transit system would at leastbrhelp alleviate some of the traffic and parking concerns, as employees at thesebrbusinesses would be encouraged to park once in the morning, and leave theirbrcars there, even if they frequent the city's retail and restaurantbrestablishments during the day.
“We have to startbrmodernizing and becoming more eco-friendly,” Hill says. With large retailbrcenters such as Town Square, Kimball Oaks and Park Village, she adds, “We dohave a city ‘center.’”
About the only businessbrnot present in the community, and noticeably missing from Southlake TownbrSquare, is a big-box department store. But that doesn't worry Hill or Hamons.
“I couldn't care lessbrabout a department store,” says Hill, who notes that the community attractsbrsmaller, more unique stores and restaurants.
“We continue to get more boutiquebrbusinesses—small, regional businessesbrthat really pick and choose the best place to be,” says Hill.
Hamons agrees, pointingbrout that Cooper & Stebbins, developers of Southlake Town Square, were closebrto a deal a few years ago with a big-box department store retailer, butbrultimately the retailer's demands, they felt, were too costly.
“The need for abrdepartment store is less now,” Hamons says. “I think we can carry the daybrwithout that big box.”
It's a reality to whichbrSouthlake residents are accustomed: New stores and restaurants move in; othersbrdepart. So what can be gleaned from all this commercial commotion? The shopsbrand businesses that come to Southlake—and succeed—do so to the benefit of Southlake'sbrresidents through community involvement and contributing to a healthy tenantbrmix.