Friday, January 4, 2008

Oak Lawn’s Crossroads Market to stay open thanks to new lease

By John Wright of Dallas Voice

Don Sheets (left), Alan Pierce (right)

Don Sheets got what he wanted for Christmas, albeit a few days late.

Sheets said he received a copy of the lease Friday, Dec. 28, that will allow him to keep Crossroads Market open -- and, for the time being at least, preserve a little history.

"It's a miracle on Cedar Springs," Sheets said. "It's unbelievable that it really happened, because it didn't look like it was going to."

Crossroads Market, the 27-year-old store that's viewed as the birthplace of gay rights in Dallas, had been in danger of closing at the end of 2007. Richard Longstaff, who's owned Crossroads for the last four years, announced in November that he didn't plan to renew his lease because he said the landlord was asking too much money.

Sheets, who's subleased the coffee shop inside Crossroads for the last 14 months, wanted to purchase the store from Longstaff. But Sheets said he couldn't afford what the landlord initially was asking, either.

Eagle Equity Management, which manages the property for the owner, eventually agreed to a lower rate, Sheets said, but it wouldn't be until the last minute that the company put the deal on paper.

Sheets declined to reveal the length or other terms of the new lease, and a representative from Eagle Equity didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Sheets said Eagle Equity doesn't want the terms to become public because the company will be negotiating with other nearby tenants whose leases expire in the coming months and years.

Eagle Equity represents the Sachs family, which owns land on the north side of Cedar Springs Road from Throckmorton Street to the Round-Up Saloon.

Despite what happened with Crossroads, the other tenants say they're not overly concerned. They include Longstaff, who still owns Union Jack; Dave Richardson, who owns TapeLenders Video; and Alan Pierce, who owns the Round-Up.

"We've always had a good relationship with our landlord, and we don't anticipate any problems," Pierce said.

Two storefronts owned by the Sachs family are vacant after Shades of Grey Leather and An Occasional Piece closed in 2007.

Gary Krupkin, senior vice president and general counsel for Condoms to Go, said his company was set to open a store where An Occasional Piece had been. Krupkin said Condoms To Go spent upward of $25,000 preparing the location before members of the Sachs family decided they didn't want a condom store as a tenant.

"What we're trying to do is recover from them the monies we've spent on their property," Krupkin said. "I don't know if I'm going to have to file a lawsuit or not."

Pegasus News content partner - Dallas Voice, the community newspaper for gay & lesbian Dallas.

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