Changes are coming to Henderson Avenue

As seen in the East Dallas Advocate: Changes are coming to Henderson Avenue

Last fall, Acadia Realty Trust and Ignite-Rebees announced a project to construct multiple mixed-use buildings on a long-vacant 161,000-square-foot property between Glencoe Street and McMillan Avenue. The project will include restaurants, offices and retail.

When looking into the history of Henderson Avenue’s commercial development, Ignite-Rebees co-founder Tristan Simon’s name comes up often.

Simon landed in Las Colinas from Washington, D.C., in the ’90s because he had a sports management job working for a couple of Dallas Mavericks players in a “very lowly service capacity.” While there, he noticed something missing — a quality restaurant and bar scene — and he decided to do something about that. So, Simon opened Cool River with two other partners. Though he sold out of the Cool River project after about a year, the restaurant went on to be successful for over two decades and motivated him to pursue new concepts.

Simon moved to Dallas proper and took an interest in the north blocks of Henderson Avenue that jutted out from U.S. 75. There was construction happening on the highway in the ’90s that prevented adjacent streets, like Henderson, from evolving much, Simon says. He knew that once 75 was re-finished, which was imminent in 1999, those streets would reap the benefits. He also liked the style of old buildings on Henderson, and it didn’t hurt that the property was inexpensive to lease and buy back then. He started with Cuba Libre Cafe at the corner of Henderson and Willis Avenues where The Charlotte is now.

“I built that building, or at least the original incarnation of that building, on that triangular site. It was the first thing I did down there,” Simon says. “There was an old concrete block building with a roof half torn off that had been abandoned for some time. There was a gravel pit in the back. The street was 30% vacant from a retail perspective, (there was) vagrancy. But the bones were there, and you could see it was positioned to be something more.”

Simon rattles off a slew of restaurants and bars that he opened between 2000 and 2008, including the original Fireside Pies, The Porch, Hibiscus, Candleroom and Victor Tangos. He launched about seven concepts in eight years, some of which with chef and restaurateur Nick Badovinus.

“The idea is that we’re just going to keep building our following, sort of one new place after another, and let the customer guide us into what the next place should be until we’re kind of out of good ideas that have enough market support to justify them,” Simon says.

Simon’s experience during this time is what catapulted his career beyond Henderson Avenue. He opened Westside Tavern in Los Angeles as well as CBD Provisions and Midnight Rambler in Downtown Dallas. Then, he sold his business while it was making $100 million in revenue with over a thousand employees in 2014.

Simon’s next venture was in commercial real estate but through a food and beverage lens. His work on Henderson showed him that destination restaurants and nightlife venues transform neighborhoods and create valuable real estate. And he hopes the new project on Henderson Avenue will have a similar or greater impact than his restaurants did in the 2000s.

Today, Henderson Avenue is filled with independent bars and restaurants, local boutiques and contemporary brands, and Simon describes the businesses as eclectic and unpretentious.

“I think the establishments on Henderson will always want to be a combination of approachable, casual spots,” Simon says. For example, The Old Monk at the intersection of Henderson, Willis Avenue and Pershing Street is “so welcoming, it is so eclectic. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like it or feel comfortable there. All kinds of people use it, and it’s just to me a real embodiment of the best of Henderson — past, present and future.”

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