BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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Local soap makers open retail shop

White Rock Soap Gallery‘s regular booth at Good Local Markets in Half Price Books’ parking lot has grown into a retail shop in Northlake Shopping Center on Northwest Highway at Ferndale. The company recently began renting space for manufacturing, shared with Gecko Hardware, and the retail front aims to be a “gallery of local artisans, all-natural body care and soaps, and good stuff for people,” says co-owner Keith Bailey. The shop is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Restaurants close and get revamped

Coffee addicts might have gotten the shakes for a week recently when beloved White Rock Coffee on Northwest Highway was closed for renovations. But fear not, caffeine addicts; the business re-opened quickly with sleek rustic industrial design elements.

Raise a glass and toast the finale of one of the neighborhood’s most beloved watering holes. White Rock Sports Bar served up its last food and drink after 17 years in business. When it first opened in 1998, it was Shady Side Café, and quickly drew in a legion of loyal patrons. It’s not yet clear what will come into the now-vacant Lake Highlands Village site on Buckner Boule- vard. The center’s new owners, Highland Capital Management, seem to be revamping the space, changing the brick-red façade to a stark white with plans to rename it White Rock Center.

Del Taco will close almost all of its stores in Texas, including the TimberCreek location at Skillman and Northwest Highway, by Dec. 15.

First of many Town Center tenants moves in

It may just be a hair salon, but it’s a sign of bigger things to come to the $300 million Lake Highlands Town Center. Artistik Edge, owned by neighborhood businesswoman Terri Hoover, was the first tenant to open in the long-awaited development.

After relocating in the ground floor of the town center’s Haven Lake Highlands building, Artistik Edge began offering the same salon services it provided at its Abrams location. The salon’s new address is 7077 Watercrest Parkway, but its phone number remains the same at 214.349.3888.

It’s the first of many new businesses expected to open, especially since developers rejected $30 million in Tax Increment Financing in favor of developing the project with limited oversight from the city, allowing them to finish and populate the center more quickly.