Grocery News

Urban grocery market will join scene in historic downtown Carrollton

Street Corner Urban Market is opening in Carrollton.

Street Corner Urban Market

A new grocery store brand is making its Texas debut in Carrollton: Called Street Corner Urban Market, it's a small chain from Kansas that will go into a former vintage store at 1105 South Broadway St., across from the historic downtown square, with an opening slated for spring 2026.

The Street Corner brand is headquartered in Topeka, and comprises several concepts, from express kiosks to gas station companions to this urban market concept, which has 47 locations across the U.S. as of early 2025, in cities such as Fresno, California and Rochester, New York.

Carrollton will be a 2,500 square-foot store — bigger than a convenience store but smaller than a large-scale grocery store.

Bringing the concept to Carrollton is franchisee Leon Smith, a longtime downtown Carrollton resident looking to fill a gap in the neighborhood's retail lineup.

“I've lived in the downtown Carrollton area probably for about seven, eight years,” Smith says. “I've always noticed the need for some type of grocery chain down here. There's just nothing down here for the residents — nowhere for them to go grab something quick.”

The historic downtown area nearly has it all: family housing, four luxury apartment complexes, a townhome development in the works, a DART station, dining, parks, entertainment, and locally-owned retail and beauty services.

The missing link: a place to grab groceries, beer & wine, flowers, produce, and ready-to-eat meals without hopping on a train or driving.

Smith, an HR professional at Baylor Scott & White venturing into franchising, says the Street Corner Market shopping experience is reminiscent of Trader Joe’s, including stocking many of the same vendors, but on a smaller scale.

Catering to the community is a priority, and they'll be open to product recommendations so that the store’s offerings reflect residents’ needs.

“It's not cookie cutter ‘this is the only way that it’s going to go,’” Smith says. “I'm here to try to make it welcoming for everybody that's around here. I'm a part of this community, so this is important to me, because I know the need for it.”

supermarkets openings

Downtown News

Dallas chef team to close downtown fine-dining restaurant Sauvage

Sauvage

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A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is closing: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, will close in March.

According to a post from co-owner and chef Casey La Rue, the final day will be March 21.

"We're going to be open weekends until then, on Fridays and Saturdays, and we're going to put out the best food we've done so far," La Rue says.

They're closing due to heart-related health issues that La Rue has experienced, which began to surface in the past five years.

"Over the past few years, I've had some health issues, even going back to Carte Blanche days," La Rue says, referring to the original tasting restaurant that he and his wife Amy La Rue opened on Greenville Avenue in 2020. "I guess running this kind of restaurant, and the all-consuming nature of it, isn't great for you physically."

That's especially true given the couple's DIY ethos: They opened Sauvage six months ago next to the Statler Dallas hotel at 1914 Commerce St., with a renovation that they executed entirely on their own, literally building the place from scratch.

They opened Sauvage as a woodfire concept with 16-18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker. It was a next-generation concept for the couple following Carte Blanche, where they earned a number of awards including a rare AAA 5-diamond award, before closing in 2024.

But the fine-dining landscape has changed in recent years, with some calling it unsustainable.

At around the same time, the La Rues opened La Rue Doughnuts, a buzzy shop at the Trinity Groves complex in West Dallas, and Casey says that's where they'll place their focus, stating that he's unlikely to do another fine-dining restaurant "in my lifetime." (On a related note, all of the equipment at the restaurant is for sale.)

Doing the math, that means: 10 nights remaining X 2 reservation slots per night X 12 seats at each seating. That comes out to exactly 240 opportunities to get a meal there before they close. Run to the reservation lines!

downtown