It’s a Friday night in August, and streets in Deep Ellum are about to close.
Yellow barricades that were stacked to the side of Elm Street are moved into place by Dallas police at 10 p.m., shutting down roads north of Main Street — the city of Dallas’ response to public safety concerns in the entertainment district following a call to action by concerned business owners over a recent spike in violent crime.
Deep Ellum has typically had street closures during busy seasons — like in the summer. But those have traditionally begun at midnight. The 10 p.m. closures are new, and not everyone is a fan.
Some locals, like Evan Johnson, managing partner at the bar and music venue Three Links, don’t see it as a long-term solution.
“The street closures seem very reactionary from the police and not really a well thought out solution,” Johnson said.
People walk around Deep Ellum on Friday, August. 8, 2025, in Dallas.
The closures run from Main Street to Indiana Street, and Good Latimer Expressway to Malcolm X Boulevard, including all connecting streets in between. It’s impacted some parking options and has added to the decline in foot traffic the neighborhood has seen on top of an economic downturn and a slow summer season.
“It’s almost 9 o’clock on a Friday night and the streets are empty,” Johnson said. “Usually by now there’s people walking around, people going to dinner.”
Johnson, who owns Three Links, told KERA he wants to see more solutions to public safety in the neighborhood, like regulation enforcement and enhanced patrols. He added that a lot of law enforcement resources seemed to be tied up to the corner of Elm and Crowdus Streets, where the nightclub Rodeo Dallas is located, and is curious to see if those resources will shift with Rodeo’s temporary closure.
A Dallas County judge issued a temporary restraining order on Rodeo on Aug. 8, the same week it had closed — and later reopened — due to alleged leasing issues.
The petition for the restraining order cited “well-publicized dangerous and unlawful conduct” and called the nightclub a nuisance to the neighborhood.
Court documents alleged crowd control issues and an environment of “lawlessness and chaos” from Rodeo contributed to the July Fourth weekend fights and shooting, which left one person dead and multiple people injured.
Clinton Palmer, a bartender at Reno’s, talks about a new rule to close down the streets at Deep Ellum on Friday, August. 8, 2025, in Dallas.
That shooting is what prompted a call to action from local businesses. But now, the earlier closure time has resulted in a misconception that the neighborhood is under a curfew, according to Reno’s bartender Clinton Palmer. That’s misinformation he said he’s had to address on social media.
“I have to do it every weekend to remind people the streets closed at 10 o’clock, the businesses stay open till 2 a.m. So bars and clubs will be open till 2 a.m.,” Palmer said. “I will constantly repeat that until everyone understands Deep Ellum is not closing.”
Kurt Grayson, a bartender at Elm Street Saloon, said the closures have also led to less foot traffic in the neighborhood.
“It’s killing businesses, it’s killing people who want to come down here and spend money,” Grayson said. “It’s making people that want to come down here have to park a country mile away and have to walk.”
A Dallas Police walks around Deep Ellum on Friday, August. 8, 2025, in Dallas.
While public safety has been a concern this summer, locals like Johnson have seen the true character of the neighborhood firsthand.
Deep Ellum is a community rooted in camaraderie, the arts, and entertainment, Johnson said. And safety is part of the effort to keep that alive.
“This neighborhood is super tightknit,” Johnson said. “If you’re from here, if you hang out down here it’s hard to walk down the street without shaking the hand of a friend, and giving somebody a hug.”
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