South Main businesses cry out over Fort Worth parking problems: ‘It could be the end of us’
The rapid revitalization of South Main Street into a popular district with trendy breweries, restaurants, bakeries and apartments has come at a cost for some of those same businesses who say parking hasn’t kept up with the growth.
It’s a problem that several small business owners describe as a threat to their livelihoods. Even when parking spots are available, merchants are seeing potential customers pass them by because they don’t want to pay to park for a quick lunch or to browse a boutique.
The South Main Village district, just south of the Interstate 35 overpass, was formerly industrial until the street was redesigned in 2017 to be more walkable and numerous historic buildings were revitalized. Developers promoted South Main Village as the new Magnolia Avenue, and small businesses began flocking to open storefronts just months before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parking near South Main Village and along Magnolia Avenue is largely the same — mainly paid lots with some street options. But people going to the more developed Magnolia district, where they might spend several hours, seem to be willing to pay. Customers of the fledgling South Main Village haven’t appeared as eager, merchants say.
Tasha Monticure, owner of Bodega South Main, said ideas of making South Main a “walking community” just haven’t happened yet. Several of her customers have told her they drive to similar restaurants farther away because of parking.
Monticure’s grocery store and sandwich deli mainly serves breakfast and lunch. Monticure said there are no free parking options close to her business, which hurts her sales.
When dealing mainly with a lunch and breakfast crowd on the go during the work day, some customers are not willing to pay for parking, Monticure said.
“I have people typically for lunch on a timeline and they’re sober,” Monticure said. “Customers have told me it’s not like they can’t afford the parking, but as a matter of principle, they’re just not going to do it. So, that’s the obstacle I’ve encountered. And then combined with the brutal heat of July and August, heat index of 115, it’s a really great theory that people are going to walk, but they’re just not.”
Monticure said the issue affects her livelihood as a small business owner and that of her neighbors. Today, she feels that many businesses who made the area “neat and cool” are suffering and closing their doors.
“Everyone is like literally crying out for business and saying either donate to us and help us keep our doors open or please come and visit us,” Monticure said.
Tareka Lofton has operated her cake shop, Loft 22 Cakes, off East Daggett Street in South Main Village for nearly seven yearssaid. She said her business’ main struggle has been parking.
“It’s tight, it’s very congested, and now that it’s a popular area — over the last couple of years, it’s grown in popularity — it’s even more congested than it used to be when we first started in 2017,” Lofton said.
Lofton said growth along South Main has been good and bad. Today, there’s a lot more foot traffic in the neighborhood.
“The bad part is that there’s no accommodation being made for that growth from the city with the streets,” Lofton said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s been a priority on helping assist that growth.”
The bakery offers custom cakes, which can sometimes be hard for customers to pick up because they can’t find anywhere to park, Lofton said.
While Lofton does have customers who pay for parking to pick up orders, she said many have not been happy and expressed frustration about paying when they’re only in the shop for a few minutes. She said some customers have received parking tickets when they leave their vehicles for “less than two minutes” to come in, grab their cake and leave.
“It also can be a nightmare for us,” Lofton said. “Sometimes when we’re trying to deliver these three-, four- and five-tier wedding cakes and all the parking is taken up. And then me, being a business owner, sometimes I can’t find parking to get to my own business. It can be a little frustrating.”
When Kala Morgan opened clothing store Morgan Mercantile with her husband in April 2019, parking didn’t seem like an issue, she said. At the time, many of her neighbors today were still under development. The area grew quickly, but parking didn’t expand with that growth, Morgan said.
“There’s a number of reasons why we’re a little bit slower than we have been in previous years,” Morgan said. “But I think the parking situation is definitely at the top of the list. Surely, that is a big topic a lot of folks comment on.”
The clothing shop has some street parking, and paid lots surrounding the building. But like with other businesses, a lot of guests don’t want to pay when popping in and out to grab something, Morgan said.
“This neighborhood was built with walkability in mind, which was a great concept, but I think it’s been challenging getting people to realize that it is walkable,” Morgan said. “Unfortunately, it seems that too many people are car reliant, and they’re conditioned to expect a convenient parking spot. Whenever they have to park and walk, I think it’s inconvenient and they don’t see the value in exploring the neighborhood especially when you take into effect inclement weather.”
Morgan said she doesn’t want to think about what could happen if South Main’s parking issue isn’t resolved.
“It could be the end of us,” Morgan said. “I know that Near Southside is a huge proponent for the small businesses, but if we don’t have support systems in place, then there’s only so much we can do as business owners to thrive. I think we’re at the mercy of developers and city planners, and it is kind of a scary thought that something like parking could lead to our demise.”
Samantha Glenn, co-owner and general manager of Funky Picnic Brewery and Cafe, said trying to keep her doors open since its June 2019 opening has almost bankrupted her personally.
While the brewery restaurant has an 18-spot parking lot adjacent, Glenn says it’s still not enough to fill the place up. Funky Picnic’s main restaurant seats 80 people, and a newly added back room can seat another 60. Glenn is used to the challenge of watching their parking lot “like hawks.”
Meanwhile, new apartment construction of The Bowery at Southside and Bryan Flats is underway on both sides of the building.
“We recently lost one of our holiday parties that we had hosted last year,” Glenn said. “Due to the construction and the parking situation, they decided to go somewhere else for their group of 80, rather than having their holiday party with us. I think what’s difficult is expectations in Texas. People want to be able to park right outside the door.”
Glenn called out to the community a few months ago to express her business was struggling and she wasn’t sure how long they would be able to keep their doors open.
“It’s not just us,” Glenn said. “There have already been several places closing in the neighborhood. We’re just hoping that (Funky Picnic) can survive, because it opened right before COVID and has struggled to be able to pay high rent prices for a neighborhood that hasn’t fully developed because of COVID delays.”
Other business owners say the problem is about more than just a lack of parking, but rather stigmas of “horrible” parking in the neighborhood.
South Main’s Dusty Biscuit Beignet almost shuttered in August due to various supply chain and inflation setbacks that came up when the storefront opened during the pandemic.
Owner Trey Smith said parking has been a factor despite his business having more free parking options than many of his neighbors. Smith said many people don’t realize spots outside his restaurant are free, because it’s uncommon for the area.
“It’s more of a stigma of the parking situation that hurts us, because there is some parking to be had in the area, it’s just tough to find in a pinch,” Smith said.
Shawn Howell, owner of Southside Cellar, said parking on South Main has impacted his business, but not as much as it has some of his neighbors.
“Being a beer and wine shop and pub, my business isn’t affected in the same way a pop-in-and-go business is,” Howell said.
People will park, walk two blocks, come inside Southside Cellar and sit down for two hours, Howell said.
“Not every business is affected similarly depending on what type you are,” Howell said.
But customers just looking to grab a sandwich or beignet to go aren’t always willing to invest the same amount of time to find parking.
“I know for a fact those guys are hurting for sure,” Howell said.
Steve Steward, co-owner of Tarantula Tiki Lounge, said it’s hard to quantify exactly how many customers the parking situation is affecting, given he operates a bar.
“I don’t really know what the solution is, but it is pretty aggravating,” Steward said. “To just have to park a couple blocks away, just to get your apartments or to get your job. You know, if you’re a customer coming to these places and driving around trying to find a place to park, you’re like, ‘Well, maybe I’m just going to go somewhere else.’”
But while South Main’s parking situation may be hurting some businesses, not all are struggling in the same ways.
Landon Perdue, co-owner of Emporium Pies, said her Fort Worth shop has experienced positive, steady growth since opening on South Main Street just before the pandemic. The dessert shop also has locations in busy Dallas entertainment districts like Bishop Arts and Deep Ellum.
“I’ve got kind of a bias here, because we have not had a location that’s just got real great parking,” Perdue said. “That’s kind of intentional though, being specifically in entertainment districts, and so our guests seem to be used to having to park and walk. The full experience of what we’re doing is kind of centered around that.”
Perdue said Emporium Pies has prioritized other factors over parking when deciding where to open new shops in the Metroplex. She also said the company guards itself from dependence on parking by having multiple revenue streams including online order and delivery options.
“Our business is really driven by some of the online stuff that we do,” Perdue said.
Taryn Saye, shop assistant at Panther City Tattoo, said parking hasn’t impacted the tattoo shop. When customers visit the shop — likely for appointments that can span a few hours — some may have to circle the block a few times to find a spot, Say said, but it’s “nothing crazy.”
“If anything, there’s just confusion about where it’s OK to park,” Saye said. “We just have street parking, not our own lot, but most of the street parking is free. People kind of just know where to go at this point.”
The nonprofit organization Near Southside, Inc. works with the city of Fort Worth to maximize the number of street spaces available. It also helps business owners with parking management strategies, said president Mike Brennan.
“Fortunately, we’ve had some great property owners that have restored old buildings that play such a key role in really shaping the character of South Main,” Brennan said. “That’s a key part of the attraction is that historic character in those old buildings. But many times those sites with the old buildings don’t have large parking lots on the same property or, in some cases, any parking on the same property. So the businesses that go into those buildings are, from the start, relying on a combination of on-street parking, and off-site, some private parking lots.”
Brennan said parking is always top of mind for business owners, visitors and residents. He has seen paid parking lots — accessed through mobile apps — play a key role in providing space for customers.
“The rates seem pretty reasonable,” Brennan said. “And it’s my experience that you can pretty much anytime find a parking space.”
Near Southside, Inc. has worked with the city over the past few months on initiatives to modify the Near Southside development code for what are called “transitional parking lots” on undeveloped plots at a relatively low cost to property owners, Brennan said.
“Properties that are currently vacant are great development sites, and over the next couple of years might also be able to provide some much needed parking capacity for South Main Village.”
To create these transitional parking lots, developers will not have to construct all of the improvements that would be required for a permanent lot, like street trees, pedestrian lamps and screening.
“There are a whole lot of other folks that know these areas,” Brennan said. “They know, first of all, that they shouldn’t always expect to find a parking space right next to their destination. They appreciate how walkable these areas are, and so parking a couple blocks away is just a nice stroll down South Main Street to get to the business where they’re going.”
