Why So Many of Knox Street's New Arrivals Tried Highland Park Village First

Several of the brands opening on Knox Street this fall have been to Highland Park before. Some had a residency at Market Highland Park Village, some ran a pop-up, and one spent years as a Village store before planning a larger sister store on Knox. So the Knox openings list for fall 2026 doubles as a record of which Highland Park experiments worked.

For anyone who lives in Highland Park, both shopping streets are close by. One tends to be where a brand is introduced. The other is where it moves into a bigger room.

The brands that started in the Village

D Magazine's running Knox Street tracker, updated October 13, lists more than a dozen new tenants. Five of them have a Highland Park chapter.

Cult Gaia shows the pattern most clearly. PaperCity reported in August that the label, known for its wooden ark bags, tried Dallas with the Market Highland Park Village residency before committing to a Knox store due in November. TWP took the same route. The New York womenswear label ran its Highland Park pop-up last year, and D Magazine reports it is "making things permanent on Knox Street" this fall.

The Conservatory shows what the move gets a brand

Brian Bolke's Conservatory opened in Highland Park Village in 2019. Its Knox sister store will be two stories and 10,000 square feet, with a large outdoor deck and a bar and restaurant concept, according to D Magazine. It sits a short walk from Bolke's original Forty Five Ten location. PaperCity describes the Knox store as a cooler, more forward sister to the Village shop. In April, PaperCity said Bolke hoped to open by mid-fall. D Magazine's October tracker gives the end of 2026.

The size is the point. A brand can show itself at Highland Park Village, but Knox offers floor plates with room for a deck, a bar and a second level. Bachendorf's is building on Knox the same way. D Magazine reports that the family jeweler's fifth location, designed by Droese Raney Architecture, will include a full-service bar and a rotating set of designer residences, and is expected this winter.

The same leasing people run both streets

The move between the two streets has a structural reason behind it. D Magazine's tracker traces the current Knox revival to 2018, when MSD Capital, now BDT & MSD Partners, started buying Knox-area buildings and became the district's largest landlord. Soon after, The Summers Group and Gillon Property Group, which D Magazine describes as "heavily connected to Highland Park Village," took over leasing and property management.

That makes it easier for a brand that does well in a Village pop-up to stay in the area. Its next step can be a larger lease a mile or so away, with a leasing team that has already seen its sales. D Magazine credits that leasing arrangement, along with the Weir's Plaza redevelopment and the 2023 announcement of an Auberge hotel, for drawing the current wave of luxury tenants. Readers who followed the couture-and-bootmaker collaboration at Highland Park Village earlier this year will recognize the approach: brands are placed in relation to each other, and the placement continues across both streets.

Knox also lands Texas firsts

Knox is also where brands make their Texas debuts, a role that used to belong mostly to the Village. Here is what had opened by the time this post published:

• HART, the customizable jewelry line Hart Hagerty founded in Charleston in 2016, opened August 15, 2026. It is the brand's first Texas shop and its fifth anywhere, after Manhattan, Nashville and Nantucket. Dallas-based Burkle Creative designed the store.
• KD Biel, the Design District home-decor shop, opened its second store on Knox on September 25, 2026.
• Visual Comfort, the Houston-based lighting brand, opened in August 2026 in the former Origin Kitchen + Bar space. It is the company's first Dallas store outside Market Center.
• Caffè Lucca, a Sicilian-inspired restaurant at 4445 Travis Street, began dinner service in late March, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Several more Texas debuts are announced but not open yet. Julia Amory, the Palm Beach brand, plans its first Texas store for fall, with interiors by Mark D. Sikes. Staud plans its first standalone Texas store by the end of 2026, and Dôen plans its Texas debut this winter. Addison Bay, the female-owned activewear brand founded in Philadelphia, is opening its fourth store and first in Texas at 3212 Knox Street, according to D Magazine. PaperCity reported that the store was aiming for September. ME+EM is adding a Knox store to its NorthPark boutique, Toteme is due this fall, and Alo is planning its third Dallas store before year's end.

The hotel sets the timeline

Most of this activity centers on one site. The Knox, Auberge Collection, is Auberge's first Dallas property. Its sister hotels include the Commodore Perry in Austin and Bowie House in Fort Worth. The Dallas Morning News reported in February that the mixed-use project had topped out and was scheduled to open in late 2026. The plan includes a pedestrian passage and a half-acre park linking Knox Street directly to the Katy Trail. No opening date has been announced for the park or the passage.

That connection matters for the restaurants coming in 2027. Sant Ambroeus, the Milan café founded in 1936, will open its first Texas location with a patio for espresso, pastry and gelato. The il Bracco team's The Main House is going into the former Mashburn space, and Théa Mediterranean Rooftop will open its second location. Katz Bros. Hospitality, the group behind Green Point and Beverley's, has announced Trailside Tex-Mex. So far the only detail it has shared is "there will be margs." Once the trail connects to the street, a morning run on the Katy, a subject of our recent post on the trail's art program, could end at Sant Ambroeus.

Closer in, Lombardi's Victory Tap is replacing Mar y Sol at 4511 McKinney Avenue. Mar y Sol served its last dinner August 15, The Dallas Morning News reported, and the sports bar was set to open October 10. Before planning a game night around it, check that it has opened.

What left, and the places that stayed

A street that keeps adding luxury tenants also loses some longtime ones. Pottery Barn, on Knox since the 1990s, moved to NorthPark in 2026. Chuy's moved to Greenville Avenue in 2025 after 32 years. Weir's closed. Those departures close out the "Furniture Row" era of the 1990s, though Crate & Barrel, RH and Pottery Barn Kids are still on the street.

In 1985, D Magazine called the area "the closest thing to a European street that Dallas has to offer," and its 2026 tracker repeats the line. These places have been there long enough to hold a weekend around the new arrivals:

1. Coffee at Berkley's Market, which also sells wine and gourmet groceries, or a longer sit at Fox Trot.
2. Lunch at Green Point Seafood & Oyster Bar, which D Magazine has recommended specifically for lunch.
3. A look into KD Biel and Visual Comfort, the two new home stores, then HART for jewelry.
4. Dinner at Knox Bistro for French cooking, or Mister Charles, which D Magazine ranks among the best restaurants in Dallas.

For the other half of the comparison, our guide to a day around Highland Park Village covers the street where many of these brands started.

Darla Chapman Ripley brings a background in advertising and publishing to her work, and she follows which brands open where, because those moves change how Highland Park and the streets around it feel to the people who live there. If you'd like to talk through what the new Knox Street means for your own corner of the Park Cities, Darla Ripley would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.