By Katharine Bales
Southern Methodist University
Julie Saqueton stands inside what used to be a liquor store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Dallas. Rising above the space, now gutted and ready for reconstruction, an outdoor sign reading “The Hub on MLK” signifies change, hope and opportunity for the area.
Just doors down in the same retail strip owned by St. Philip’s Community Center, Saqueton motions toward other shops that also were once liquor-related businesses.
They now generate economic activity for small-business owners and South Dallas, providing spaces where dreams for new businesses can become a reality.
“The Hub concept is a part of a continuum of services in the Forest District that help to prepare entrepreneurs to become thriving small business owners,” said Saqueton, chief community advancement officer at St. Philip’s.
Small businesses often struggle to establish and sustain themselves in South Dallas due to a lack of infrastructure, funding and resources. Nonprofits such as St. Philip’s are working to combat this issue at a local level.
To support and attract new businesses in the area, St. Philip’s Community Center plans to open The Hub by the end of the summer to build community connection, foster networking opportunities and offer economic advantages by encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs and supporting small-business owners.
Located at 1612 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Dallas, The Hub on MLK can be rented temporarily and used as a storefront by businesses and vendors. They can test their target market before signing a long-term lease, which can be an expensive risk for local entrepreneurs. The Hub will ideally increase economic development on MLK Jr. Boulevard while helping revitalize the area, ultimately benefiting the South Dallas community as a whole.
Timing for The Hub’s opening couldn’t be better. The number of small business establishments in 75215, the area code for most of MLK Jr. Boulevard, increased from 2012 to 2022, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Numbers fluctuated for the first six years but grew steadily from 2019 to 2022. With 334 establishments recorded in 2019 and 365 three years later, small-scale business has already taken hold in South Dallas and now has the opportunity to expand even further. With new establishments coming into the area within the past five years, The Hub can more readily help growing businesses thrive. “The Hub’s Pop-Up Storefront will pro- vide local entrepreneurs with the opportunity to showcase their business concepts and sell their products directly to the community,” Saqueton said, adding that transformation of the area is evident. “There were initially 40 liquor stores within four blocks. We’re now down to four, and this was one of them,” she said.
The Hub, like the rest of the new retail strip, was converted by St. Philip’s in their efforts to revitalize MLK Jr. Boulevard and improve the South Dallas area. The strip also contains a barbershop and fitness center.
“Having this visibility and signage opportunity right along Martin Luther King, we’re really excited,” Saqueton said.
The Hub will also be used for purposes such as small gatherings, workshops, classes, meetings, photoshoots and registration for charity and nonprofit events, Saqueton said. A vegan food vendor, produce and edible arrangement vendor, consignment store, mobile bank, candle manufacturer, realtor and photographer have expressed interest in renting out the space.
Business development is important for MLK Jr. Boulevard to thrive, and growing new businesses depend on support from communities, said Harrison Blair, president and CEO of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce.
He pointed to the annual State Fair of Texas as an example of missed business opportunities and lack of investment in South Dallas. Every fall, cars from across Dallasstream to MLK Jr. Boulevard, carrying visitors to Fair Park for the State Fair.
Businesses around Texas come to tout their finest fried foods and crafts for fairgers to enjoy. Rides and games line the mid- way, where cell phone towers are erected for the 24 short days of the fair to provide data service in an area that often lacks Internet access.
Many of the businesses that bring short- lived economic success to South Dallas during the Fair often disappear in a matter of days and proceed to focus their attention on other parts of the city, Blair said. “The pattern has repeated itself each year for decades. When the fair comes, they put all these temporary fixes up so you can get the best service in the world, but as soon as the last corny dog is sold, then we’re back to square zero.” The Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce has offices in Vista Bank, which opened this year as the first new bank built south of Interstate 30 in Dallas in almost 30 years. The bank also offers office space for aspiring new businesses, similar in concept to the mission of The Hub.
“The chamber is not only investing in people, but we also put a lot of time in infrastructure,” Blair said. “That means the roads and sidewalks that actually get people to your businesses.” Nonprofit owner Lafe Cook agrees that institutions within a community should strive for the change they want to see. He grew up in the Fort Worth area and noticed minimal resources in his neighborhood, much like in South Dallas.
“Politics isn’t the answer to what is going on in our city; we are,” Cook said.
However, The Hub is only as beneficial as its patrons allow. It relies on the community and works on a shorter rent cycle than most strip malls.
If entrepreneurs do not take advantage of the opportunity to test-run their small businesses, or if the business incubator cannot attract enough customers to sustain itself, The Hub will not serve as the safety net it was intended to be.
“I think the density that we want to see will come from something like a food incubator,” Blair said. “Now we can incubate those businesses and perhaps they’ll become a brick-and-mortar, or maybe they’ll have a really cool food truck in Klyde Warren. But all of that will have economic development impacting this area.”
Texas Metro News intern Laurel O’Brien contributed to this story.
Katharine Bales is a third-year journalism and advertising student at Southern Methodist University. She grew up in the Dallas area and enjoys learning about different local communities.
Laurel O’Brien is a senior at Ursuline Academy of Dallas. A native Dallasite, she was raised on Tex Mex and gratitude. She hopes to bring a little Southern charm to everything she writes.
