Sticky Buns on the Move
Top Dallas breakfast spot forced to move due to rent hike
A new landlord will put Crossroads Diner on the move. The critically acclaimed breakfast spot across from Presbyterian Hospital will move to the corner of Preston and Campbell roads in early 2016.
The center on Walnut Hill Road east of 75 where Crossroads is located was purchased in October by Cypress Equities. "They have decided to redevelop the center, and it happened to coincide with the renewal on my lease," says chef-owner Tom Fleming. "They raised my rent, and that has forced me to move."
Since opening in 2011, Crossroads has become not only a major neighborhood spot, especially for the under-served Lake Highlands area, but also a breakfast destination for diners all over. Fleming approaches breakfast from a chefly perspective, making everything from sausage to his signature sticky buns from scratch.
Fleming took what most would call a lousy location and transformed it into a breakfast bee's nest.
"This place was dying, and I feel like we revitalized it," he says. "That being said, I'm a free market capitalist, and I understand they've got to return the money to their investors. But it has have forced us to move."
When he went looking for a new location, he thought first of his faithful customers.
"What bothers me about the whole thing is the customers from Lake Highlands and East Dallas and Park Cities, I draw from all over there," he says. "They have made us what we are because of their loyalty and commitment to what we’re doing. Part of me feels bad I couldn't find something that would be more convenient. I looked at every vacant space. But restaurants are a math equation. There was not a location that met all of the needs we have."
His new space will be on the end-cap at the Kroger shopping center, in what used to be a Hallmark store, and he's looking at relocating in January, with probably a two- to three-week gap as he makes the move.
"One of the reasons we've continued to is that we put the best breakfast out there," he says. "It's a commitment and that’s what we do. "
