 the offical newsletter of DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT - DART 25th Anniversary 2008 |
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Connecting with Customers
"We get all types coming from transit to eat –
tourists exploring the city and business people
on their lunch breaks. They come at all hours, too,"
says Amber Fiore, manager of Grimaldi's
in the West Village.
tourists exploring the city and business people
on their lunch breaks. They come at all hours, too,"
says Amber Fiore, manager of Grimaldi's
in the West Village.
Transit is bringing business to retailers' doors.
When baseball was still being played in Brooklyn, New York, the hometown team was dubbed "the Dodgers" because players and fans had to dodge streetcars to get to the ballpark. New York transplant Amber Fiore sees the same thing daily as customers hop across the McKinney Avenue Streetcar tracks for authentic New York-style pizza and pasta at the new Grimaldi's in the West Village.
"We see customers getting on and off the streetcars all the time," says Fiore, manager of the pizzeria located on the streetcar line a block west of DART's Cityplace Station. "Sometimes they'll go racing out the door after they eat to get back on. And we get all types coming from transit to eat – tourists exploring the city and business people on their lunch breaks. They come at all hours, too," she says.
 Mockingbird Station's Urban Outfitters boasts higher sales than any of the chain's other Texas outlets. |
At Urban Outfitters, a trendy shop catering mostly to high school and college students, store managers say they have the highest sales volume among the chain's six Texas outlets.
"It's evident that a lot of people come here in general from DART Rail. They go to a movie, get something to eat and shop. . . I live in Fort Worth and ride the Trinity Railway Express and DART here every day."
Kenneth Robison, Urban Outfitter’s day manager
 The Fillmore Pub is a traditional pub within steps of Downtown Plano Station. |
Fifteen miles north in Plano, Fillmore Pub owner Gabe Whatley also sees DART generating customer traffic. He's been in the bar business 18 years and some of his longtime customers ride the train to visit him at the European-style pub he opened nine months ago near Downtown Plano Station.
More business is coming. "There's a big five-story mixed-use complex going in with 280 units and we're going to be very close to that," says Whatley.
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