The lights of the old Village Theatre still glow, but instead of the beloved theatre, the building now houses a Ralph Lauren. This is not an isolated incident. Many stores within the Village have closed, only for a luxury shop to take its place. "It's just so far above my lifestyle," Highland Park resident Marty Wynne said. Photo by Zoie Carlile
By Elaine Engel
As a child in Highland Park in the 1940s and 50s, Highland Park native Judy Mock watched cartoons on Saturday mornings at the Village Theater and bought milkshakes at the gas station after her classes let out from Bradfield Elementary.
Decades and business deals later, only those seven-year-olds who harbor an affection for Jimmy Choos find themselves at Highland Park Village after the final bell. The upcoming closure of the local Starbucks may be the last nail in the coffin of the old Highland Park Village.
"I'm just incredulous that they're letting Starbucks go," Highland Park resident and alum Marty Wynne said. "We used to always go to that Starbucks because they never rush you."
The Highland Park Village Starbucks announced that the store will be leaving its residence in the Village when the lease expires in February 2024.
"It was announced that their lease will not be renewed in October," Chief Marketing Officer for Highland Park Village Victoria Snee said.
The grab-and-go nature of the Starbucks’ business was considered out of place in the comfort of the leisurely Village.
"In recent years, Starbucks has changed its business model to more to-go and mobile orders, which isn’t conducive to our shopping environment and our ability to provide the best customer service," Snee said.
Starbucks’ replacement has yet to be announced, but several pre-existing cafes are set to take its daily business and clientele. The current speculation is that certain shops such as Ralph Lauren may open small cafes within their stores for customers to replace the service that Starbucks provided.
"In recent years, Starbucks has changed its business model to more to-go and mobile orders, which isn’t conducive to our shopping environment and our ability to provide the best customer service."
"Many members of the community have expressed that they are pleased that we will continue to have great coffee offerings in Sadelle’s and BIRD Bakery," Snee said.
Nevertheless, the Village may be losing a large client base, as neither of the center's other cafes are open before 9 a.m. Without an outlet for their money, early risers will be forced to take their business to Inwood Village or Preston Center, neither of which have the same history or community significance as Highland Park Village.
First opened in 1931, Highland Park Village was the first self-contained shopping center in the U.S. The center was designed by architects Marion Fresenius Fooshee and James B. Cheek, who chose a Spanish style of architecture and built the shopping center under a single ownership. In 2000, the Village was even declared a National Historic Landmark.
"They had movies every Saturday for children," Mock recalled. "Your mother could just drop you off, and for a nickel, we could go and watch cartoons."
For most of its existence, movie theaters, grocery stores and casual shops allowed for the Village to serve as a hearth of the community. But in 2009, Ray Washburne, Heather Washburne, Stephen Summers and Elisa Summers collectively became known as the HP Village Partners when they took ownership of the center. Since then, locals say that the Village has become almost unrecognizable.
"It was really sad because slowly, but surely [the stores] got to be more for grown-ups," Mock said. "I don't shop there anymore."
Just over a decade since ownership shifted hands, the center has veered in the direction of luxury brands and high end retail stores. Instead of dime stores and Tom Thumbs, Chanel and Ralph Lauren reside in their old locations.
"There's some beautiful shops there and some good choices for people that are looking for really high end stuff," Highland Park native Shelly Butler said. "I think that's a great selection if you're looking for that type of product."
While the Village is now a wonderful display for designer brands, the price range has made it largely inaccessible on a regular basis, even for many living in the Park Cities.
"It's just so far above my lifestyle," Wynne said.
"It's nowhere near the community center it used to be."
After the ownership shifted in a sale of $170 million, the ensuing transformation has taken Highland Park Village from a hometown community center to a luxury plaza.
"Before when I was growing up or even when my parents were growing up, it just seemed to have more of a hometown feel," Butler said. "Ownership has changed and people's tastes have changed as well."
A large reason for this has been the closure of stores that were once staples of the Village. The pharmacy Skillerns, the Tom Thumb, Los Vaqueros, 7/11 and more recently, Village Theater, where Mock spent Saturdays as a child, have all closed in recent years.
"I would say the most dramatic [change] was probably with the movie theater," Butler said. "It used to be a lot larger and just a different experience."
The theater dated back to the 1930s, but along the path to eventual closure, the Village Theater downsized. Then in 2020, the theater joined the ranks of the many other theaters that had fallen as victims to the pandemic.
In place of the theater that disapproving parents protested after weekly showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, now rests a Ralph Lauren. Instead of seeing the summer's blockbusters, a visitor can now see both the complete men and women's lines.
This trend is expected to continue on as more luxury and designer brands are planning openings in the outdoor mall.
"We do have multiple store openings this month including Swiss luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin and influential Spanish fashion house LOEWE, which are both opening their first Texas locations in Highland Park Village." Snee said.
More changes to the landmark are on the horizon, some of which bring exciting variety, while others threaten the integrity of the Village.
"I live six blocks away and I go to Highland Park Village maybe four times a month," Wynne said. "It's nowhere near the community center it used to be."