A neighborhood grocery store and cafe is coming to downtown Dallas: Ari’s Pantry, the beloved neighborhood grocery store founded in Oak Cliff, will open an outlet at 1800 Main St., in the space previously occupied by Berkley's Market.
Ari's founder Ari Lowenstein says the store will be similar to the Oak Cliff location, with pastas, gourmet goods, dried foods, produce items, plus meals for dining in or to go — with the addition of a coffee shop, gelato stand, and sandwiches.
"You'll be able to pick up salads, entrees, sandwiches," Lowenstein says. "We'll be open for coffee at 7 am and open until 9 pm if you need to pick up a bottle of wine. There'll also be an area where you can sit and have a glass of wine and a nice cheese board."
Berkley's Market, the local gourmet grocery chain, closed in 2024 as part of a bigger transition by Berkley's ownership, but the space has solid grocery history as it was previously home to Royal Blue Grocery, the gourmet grocery chain from Austin.
The market will be a joint venture between Lowenstein and Alan Kearney, owner of downtown businesses such as The Crafty Irishman and Patrick Kennedy's Irish Pub, as well as Cannon's Corner Irish Pub in Oak Cliff — coincidentally across the street from Ari's, and thus where Kearney saw Ari's in action.
To make this expansion happen, Kearney is partnering with other downtown stakeholders including Dino Santonicola, owner of Partenope Ristorante, and Nick Roditis, owner of Yolk at One Arts Plaza — all of whom share a commitment to strengthening retail in downtown.
That includes supporting the idea of having an upscale grocery outlet within the Central Business District. "Berkley's may have closed but we had faith that downtown Dallas wanted and would support a market like this," Kearney says.
They're hoping to have it open in mid-April.
The location is almost dead-center in downtown, across from Main Street Park and surrounded by businesses, residences, and hotels including Joule Dallas, Statler Dallas, the Indigo, the Magnolia, and the Adolphus. The store sits on the ground level of The Merc, an apartment high-rise in the landmark Mercantile Place building.
Kearney has experience in the hospitality world, but opening a grocery was another matter. Ari's had built a strong presence in Oak Cliff, drawing customers for his array of offerings. Lowenstein also opened an outlet in Trinity Groves in 2024 with a larger kitchen that serves as their commissary for all locations.
Ari Lowenstein and aide at Ari's PantryAri's
"We'll do downtown what I've done at our other locations, with a broad selection of good products and fair prices — but our play is always to get on your rotation," Lowenstein says. "We work to figure out what products people love so that, if you are a professional person living downtown and I'm two blocks from you, I'll have it on the shelf. Of course I'm happy when someone comes in and spends $100 on a bunch of things, but I also love it when people come in to get that one thing they need."
In addition to easy grab-and-go, they'll add great coffee in morning, gelato in afternoon, and Italian sandwiches — like their house-made porchetta on house-made ciabatta — whenever you want them.
"We're here with great food whether you want to eat it here, pick it up to go, or bring it to your friends in a gift box," he says.
