The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses
| La Paisanita taqueria opens at West Davis and Adams The second Paisanita has opened in north Oak Cliff and is different from its counterpart at West Davis and Ravinia. Located in a renovated former laundromat, the new Paisanita is not just a taco stand where customers order at the counter and wait for someone to hand out tacos in a plastic basket or paper bag. At the Paisanita on Adams, customers can either order takeout, or sit at a table or booth and order from the small, simple menu — tacos, gorditas, tortas, breakfast plates. Dine in, and a waiter will bring a basket of thick chips, served with a warm habanero salsa, which will make a thin sweat break out over your scalp. It will make you sniffle. It’s so good.Zoning change approved for Sylvan Thirty City Council has approved Oaxaca Partners’ request for a zoning change that will allow 70-foot tall buildings, among other considerations. A few people spoke against the zoning change, including Belmont Hotel owner Monte Anderson and Fort Worth Avenue Development Group president David Lyles. Opponents of the plan say the city should not be making changes to the planned development district, put in place about 10 years ago to define what type of developments neighbors wanted for Fort Worth Avenue. Brent Jackson of Oaxaca says he now is working to finalize construction drawings, and then site work can begin. It should be about three to four months before building starts. Cox Farms Market, anchor tenant for Sylvan Thirty, had been slated to open in November 2012. That’s still the official date, but Jackson says it is likely to take several months longer. So neighbors could be looking at early 2013 for Cox Farms in Oak Cliff. |
Get in contact• La Paisanita • Sylvan Thirty • Smoke • Bolsa Mercado • Urban Acres • Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com |
Pedestrian-friendly, live-work concept planned for Fort Worth Avenue
Cielo Realty Partners has shown off its plans for the former Colorado Place site on Fort Worth Avenue, and they include some unique amenities for the mixed-use development. The site has been vacant since the old apartments on both sides of Fort Worth Avenue were demolished and the new plans could mean that a proposed Walmart-lite strip shopping center is now gone for good. The new development is called The Collective, and the name plays off the collaborative interaction between the 320 apartments, retail space, artist studios, commissary kitchen, community garden, dog park and innovative office arrangements. Cielo hopes the configuration of the development will lead to weekend markets with food and art, a “live-work” lifestyle and pedestrian-oriented activities. Ground-breaking is planned for May, with a 22-month construction schedule.
More business bits
Bolsa Mercado
• Smoke chef Tim Byres is opening a restaurant called Chicken Scratch in the old Jack’s Backyard space. It will serve rotisserie and pan-fried chicken. A bar called The Foundry will be next door.
• Bolsa’s sister market concept, Bolsa Mercado, is now open in the former Kemp Garage space on West Davis.
• The Kings Highway Conservation District has launched a new website, kingshwy.org, that features community forums and blogs.
• Urban Acres market has cut back its hours. The store is now open from 12-6 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday, and is closed Monday-Thursday.
