A major renovation of Commerce Street in Deep Ellum is still more than a year from completion. With ongoing construction, we’re hearing from a business considering moving out and one that can’t wait to move in.
While highly visible signs tell drivers that Deep Ellum businesses are open during construction, light foot traffic during lunch hour indicates many don’t see the message.
But Anton Schlesinger sees everything happening on Commerce Street, including heavy construction on one side of the road, as an opportunity.
“We’re already used to obstacles,” Schlesinger said.
Brick and Bones, a Deep Ellum restaurant that recently ended a decade on nearby Elm Street, has plans to open on Commerce Street in late November or early December.
Schlesinger said it will require navigating customers about where to park and how to get to their front door during construction.
“They (customers) are familiar with it, but we’re going to have to help them overcome it, and it’s going to be a challenge for sure,” Schlesinger said.
A challenge that not every business in Deep Ellum may survive.
Jeff Amador with Cane Rosso, which has nine locations in North Texas, told NBC 5 that sales are down 50% to 60% at its Deep Ellum location compared to last year.
“Our lease is up at the end of this year, and we are struggling to find a convincing reason to stay (on Commerce Street) at least in our current form,” Amador said.
The Commerce Street project will convert the roadway from a one-way to a two-way street with wider sidewalks and improved street lighting.
Geoff Lloyd with Club Dada said he’s optimistic that Deep Ellum’s overall business will improve once the project is completed in early 2027.
Dada has been located on Elm Street since 1986. In 2018, it underwent a similar makeover with wider sidewalks.
“The Commerce Street project is going to expand the diversity of businesses that we have, the quirky retail,” Lloyd said.
Elm Street will also convert to two-way traffic when the Commerce Street project is complete.