The Preston-Royal Central Market, closed since October 2019, has set a date for reopening, and it promises to be draped in red, white, and blue.

The store, located at 10720 Preston Rd. will reopen on June 30 — just in time for July 4th weekend, says company spokesperson Mabrie Jackson.

"We thought it would be festive to kick off the 4th of July holiday," Jackson says. "We miss our neighbors and are so excited to come back."

The store suffered significant damage from the tornados and storms that swept across North Dallas on Sunday October 20, 2019, and has been undergoing complete rebuilding and restoration.

The supermarket was just one business along the tornado's 15-mile stretch that also included 10 Dallas ISD schools — three of which experienced significant damage and were not able to reopen at their original campuses.

Central Market took the opportunity during the renovation to make some updates including an expansion of their produce section as well as the addition of curbside service.

"We could have pushed to reopen by Christmas, but with the additions, we thought it would be better to finish rather than having the construction going on," Jackson says.

The store still has the same footprint when you enter but they've opened the space and improved the layout.

"Compared to our other stores, that produce section always felt a little congested," she says.

Other improvements include

• expanded seafood and floral
• additional grocery selection
• larger sandwich bar
• improved coffee bar experience
• expanded customer seating area in the upstairs mezzanine, with outdoor seating, as well

Curbside is their biggest venture. They took over an adjacent space occupied by a fur shop, no longer in the center, and have a set of parking spaces in front designated strictly for curbside pickups.

"I think curbside service will continue to be important for us, and for all retailers, even when we've hopefully put the pandemic behind us," Jackson says.

Beyond all the new functional features, Jackson says they're excited about something that's more aesthetic.

"The best part is the restoration of the beautiful ceiling that was original to the design," she says. "There was some sheet rock from when Borders was there, and we took that all down and added some wooden planks and restored the beautiful wooden beams. We're excited for people to see the beautiful architecture."

"If the tornado had gone north by 25 feet, it would have leveled he building," she says. "We feel so fortunate we didn't have to scrape the store and start over."