What's New at West Village

Uptown Dallas destination welcomes a slew of new restaurants and shops

There’s always something new happening at West Village, Uptown’s premier shopping and lifestyle destination. Coming soon are new stores, restaurants, and fitness-related facilities that will have you steering your way there for one-stop shopping.

Fabulous food
For nourishment elevated to art, head to the newly opened Brewed + Pressed. The cafe offers 100 percent organic and raw-pressed juices; tonics, shakes, and nondairy milks; organic coffee; and plant-based foods. For something truly delicious, try the Mexican chocolate milk, made with activated raw pumpkin seeds, cacao powder and nibs, wildflower honey, yacon syrup, maca, pink salt, and spices.

Three Dog Bakery is opening a fourth location in West Village in late October/early November. It’s the brainchild of owners Mark and Dan, who started baking from-scratch dog treats in the 1980s. The hobby soon expanded to became the world’s first dog bakery in 1989. Visit once and your pooch won’t be able to live without the low-fat "beg-als" and wheat-free cookies. Another customer favorite is the birthday "bone cake" in choice of flavors, iced with a low-lactose, low-fat yogurt frosting with carob writing on top. Three Dog also sells dog chews, collars, harnesses, and leashes.

At the end of this year, West Village welcomes Pōk Bar, a new restaurant where healthy, pure, and delicious food are reimagined. Ingredients are sourced from carefully selected local farmers, and fresh fish is flown in daily from across the world. The fast-casual restaurant gives diners the opportunity to customize their pōk bowls, to enjoy at the restaurant or take to go.

Nazca Kitchen is opening a second location in West Village next year (exact date TBD). Nazca offers a new take on South American cuisine. Menu items include Chilean spiced grilled shrimp; Brazilian fish and shrimp stew; raspberry passion fruit mousse; and colados, a mix of fresh fruit, milk, and ice.

Smart shopping
If you’re looking for a new way to shop, share, and discover fashion, ShopSeptember is the place for you. This West Village boutique is the second location, just opened in September. It’s the place to find the best designs from the hottest new and hard-to-find labels. You’ll see the latest trends exactly when you want them.

Another newly opened shop is Ike Behar, unrivaled for craftsmanship, comfort, and style in fine men’s clothing. Behar learned from his father, a respected Cuban tailor, and designed dress shirts for Ralph Lauren for 12 years. Now the Ike Behar product line is expanded to include sport shirts, ties, sport coats, suits, handkerchiefs, underwear, and more.

Dress your darling at Sweet As Sugar, a children’s boutique with clothing that lives up to its name. This location opened in May and carries high-end children’s brands such as Hucklebones, Jak & Pepper, MarMar Copenhagen, and Appaman. The store has its own line, Sweet Sugar Couture, inspired by the elegant style and sophistication of legendary couture designers.

Enjoyable exercise
Fitness enthusiasts in New York and Los Angeles rave about SoulCycle, which is expanding to West Village by the end of 2016. At the indoor cycling studio, you can pedal your way to a hard body with the 45-minute, choreographed, fat-burning workout that incorporates hand weights and core work. The signature class is called SoulCycle; add 15 minutes, more sweat, and bigger results, and you’ve got the SoulSurvivor class.

Brewed + Pressed is now open.

Photo courtesy of Brewed+Pressed

Brewed + Pressed is now open.

uptown openings promoted shopping

beyond the stacks

Texas public libraries deliver billions in economic impact, study says

dallaslibrary.org/

Dallas shines a lot brighter with its public library system.

A new statewide study examining the economic impacts of public libraries has revealed they have generated over $3.8 billion in value to local communities — a return of $4.74 for every $1 invested.

The report, "Beyond the Stacks: Measuring the Economic and Community Value of Texas Public Libraries" was conducted by third-party consultancy JBK Economics Group in partnership with the Texas Library Association. About 300 of the total 513 public libraries in Texas participated in a survey for the report.

A major finding from the survey revealed that public libraries create billions in economic value for the communities they serve at a fraction of what it costs to pay employee wages and benefits, operating expenditures, and capital expenditures. About 11,200 jobs were directly and indirectly supported by public libraries, the report found.

The report found its $4.74 to $1 ratio by adding up the total value of the services provided by these institutions (an estimated $2.48 billion), and comparing it to total expenditures ($808.6 million).

"Public libraries had about the same economic footprint as the Texas motion picture and sound recording industry ($2.9 billion in Gross Domestic Product in 2024) or the Texas paper manufacturing industry ($4.0 billion in Gross Domestic Product in 2024)," the report said.

Many Dallasites are already familiar with Dallas Public Library's expansive catalog and programming, but there are many more services the library provides that might fly under the radar. A few examples include access to subscription-based research databases and news outlets, free notary services, free admission to local arts and culture events through Culture Pass Dallas, seed libraries, and maker spaces for creative endeavors. Individual branches also provide free Wi-Fi, computer access, meeting spaces, tax assistance, and job help.

Residents outside Dallas also have access to services at several other local libraries, depending on their address. For instance, Plano Public Library offers free cards to residents and for residents in reciprocal cities like Allen, The Colony, Frisco, Garland, McKinney, Richardson, and Wylie.

These are additional services and partnerships that Texas public libraries commonly provide, per the survey results:

93 percent provide voter registration and/or serve as voting locations
84 percent provide partnerships with local social services agencies
82 percent provide job application assistance
68 percent facilitate applications for government benefits
38 percent provide on-site social services
30 percent provide telehealth rooms and/or resources

"Public libraries are practical, welcoming and rooted in the communities they serve — they are unmistakably Texan," said Texas Library Association executive director Shirley Robinson in a press release. "This study puts a dollar value on the opportunities libraries create every day. Whether someone visits a library to apply for a job, access the internet, learn a new skill or simply find a new favorite book, those services create real value for Texans and their communities."

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