Starbucks in downtown Dallas extends hours to nights, weekends

by Teresa Gubbins

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Another promising sign for downtown Dallas and a perk for those who live on the eastern edge.

DALLAS — A Starbucks extending its hours might not otherwise be considered news, but this Starbucks is in a downtown Dallas office building, and its opening says something about the slow but steady rise of the downtown residential community, especially on the eastern end.

The Starbucks in question is on the ground level at 1700 Pacific Avenue. Previously an underground-tunnel store that kept your standard Monday-through-Friday work-week hours, it's now open until 8 p.m. on weeknights, and is also open on weekends until 2 p.m.

Part of the process of extending the store's hours involved the installation of an outside door for a store that was previously accessible only via the underground tunnel system.

"Fortunately, it wasn't too complicated for Starbucks to install the exterior entrance," said senior property manager Laurie Garcia. "It was always intended that the Starbucks would eventually utilize an exterior entrance. We've been encouraging them to open this entrance for some time, and ownership and management fully support their extended hours. We see it as an enhancement to the downtown Dallas community, creating a more cohesive downtown environment. With the new residential population in the area, there's an untapped market."

There's no shortage of Starbucks outlets downtown, but most are open weekdays only. The few that are open on weekends, such as 1401 Commerce or the one at the Fairmont, are both near or inside hotels, which gives them a trapped audience, and both still close earlier on weekdays. Even the buzzy new downtown branch of Pearl Cup, which opened at Ross and St. Paul, is closed on weekends. Take that, indie coffeehouse!

At 1700 Pacific, the new door opens onto a slightly sloped patio that runs the full block along Ervay, between Pacific and Elm. Enclosed by buildings, it has an installation of patio furniture that makes it an ideal Sunday morning cubby for the increasing number of residents who live in the properties on the eastern edge of downtown. Those in search of a cappuccino who live in the Arts District, or at 501 Akard, or at the Gables Republic Tower at 350 North Ervay, or even the communities just on the other side of the freeway overpass such as Live Oak Lofts and Bryan Place, woun't have to get in their car and drive over to Uptown. They can do what you do in a regular city: walk.

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