{"id":494204,"date":"2026-01-05T14:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T14:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494204\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T14:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T14:04:13","slug":"business-in-oak-lawn-might-be-changing-but-the-historic-gayborhood-is-here-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494204\/","title":{"rendered":"Business in Oak Lawn might be changing, but the historic gayborhood is here to stay"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the center of Dallas, in the middle of grand Highland Park<\/a> and buzzing downtown<\/a>, sits Oak Lawn<\/a>, also affectionately known as \u201cthe gayborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bThe neighborhood has thrived on the message of being welcoming to all.<\/p>\n

For decades, Oak Lawn has been a haven for Dallas’ LGBTQ community. An influx of new businesses, housing developments and luxury amenities is changing the makeup of the area, but advocates are working to maintain its legacy.<\/p>\n

In recent years, more businesses have moved to Oak Lawn, prompting residential housing to follow suit. As Oak Lawn becomes a more popular place for anyone to live, its population boom has some residents concerned that the influx of new businesses, housing developments and luxury amenities could drive up prices in the area and push out long-term residents and established businesses, including its LGBTQ<\/a> community.<\/p>\n

Oak Lawn business owners, residents, Realtors and advocates see the changes as inevitable, but that doesn\u2019t mean the legacy of the historic LGBTQ neighborhood is going anywhere as it undergoes major adjustments.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt happens in a lot of gayborhoods,\u201d said David Perre, the co-owner of Crush club. \u201cPeople start moving to the neighborhood a ton. While I think that is amazing, there\u2019s also the people who are outside of the LGBT community and they want to live in a neighborhood like that, because it\u2019s safer, it\u2019s fun, your neighbors are good people. But at the same time, those are the things that make this place super popular now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The creation of the crossroads<\/p>\n

Oak Lawn, spreading over 2,500 acres across Dallas, wasn\u2019t always a neighborhood containing thousands of residents and a popular party spot for clubbers. Oak Lawn was initially called Cedar Springs and was home to a community of Methodists<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Methodist community moved into the area that later became the sanctuary for the Oak Lawn Methodist Church in 1874, according to The Dallas Morning News archives. By 1890, the congregation outgrew the church and moved to a building on Cedar Springs Road and Douglas Avenue, where it became the Oak Lawn School.<\/p>\n

The Cedar Springs area continued to grow. By the late 1920s, Cedar Springs was annexed into the city of Dallas. It later obtained the name Oak Lawn.<\/p>\n

Oak Lawn\u2019s history of being a haven for the LGBTQ community dates back to the mid-1900s when LGBTQ people were outcasts \u2014 and considered criminals.<\/p>\n

\u201cUndercover\u201d establishments that catered to the gay community were mostly in downtown Dallas in the 1940s. It was a time when it was illegal to take partners of the same sex. Laws, continuous raids and public ridicule gradually pushed the gay clubs toward the outskirts of downtown and into Oak Lawn, according to archives.<\/p>\n

Gay bars started to emerge at The Crossroads \u2014 the intersection at Throckmorton Street and Cedar Springs Road. The intersection has been a meeting place for the LGBTQ community in Dallas since the late 1960s.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Oak Lawn became the first neighborhood in Texas with an official Texas Historical Commission marker<\/a> recognizing it as a historic LGBTQ area. The neighborhood continues to preserve its LGBTQ history.<\/p>\n

From the <\/b>rainbow flag crosswalk <\/a>that refuses to fade, to the creation of Oak Lawn Place<\/a>, an LGBTQ senior living center, and continuous work done by the Oak Lawn Committee, like the building of the <\/b>Legacy of Love Monument<\/a>, <\/b>the LGBTQ neighborhood has been preserved.<\/p>\n

But real estate agents and community members believe the character of Oak Lawn might be changing due to the businesses coming to and leaving the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Since fall, several new restaurants and businesses have made Oak Lawn their home, such as NYSE Texas<\/a> and Babel<\/a>. Recent departures from the neighborhood include Hamburger Mary\u2019s<\/a>. Crush club almost became another establishment in Oak Lawn to close its doors this year as well.<\/p>\n

Making it in Oak Lawn<\/p>\n

Seeing businesses come and go has been a part of Lee Daugherty\u2019s life. He\u2019s owned Alexandre\u2019s on Cedar Springs for over 21 years, and during that time, he said there\u2019s been a good deal of changes, including the neighborhood, costs to run a business and the customers who stop by.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the tough part about having a business for so long, you lose touch with some people, you lose some people. But as a business and as the resilience of this community through the eras, there\u2019s always adaptations to make and new people to welcome,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not only good business, but that\u2019s good community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Owner<\/p>\n

Owner Lee Daugherty brought Alexandre’s to Oak Lawn roughly 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

Christine Vo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The demand for retail locations in Oak Lawn comes with an increased cost and not enough space.<\/p>\n

As of December, around 4% of retail space in Oak Lawn was vacant, according to Bill Kitchens, the senior director of market analytics at Costar Group. <\/p>\n

Since 2020, the vacancy rate has increased, as well as the price to rent, according to CoStar Group. In the span of five years, CoStar estimates there\u2019s been almost a $10 increase in asking price per square foot.<\/p>\n

Oak Lawn is an alluring place, where many businesses have survived for years and have good relationships with their landlords, who see them as trusted tenants, Jake Milner of Davidson Bogel Real Estate said. A majority of the owners in Oak Lawn have owned their spaces for generations. <\/p>\n

For spaces that are on the market now, he says they\u2019re a hot commodity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as the world\u2019s gotten more expensive, it just seems like landlords are more willing to risk getting a little bit better rent to potentially lose the tenants, which is just not something in these areas we\u2019ve seen ever, at least in my 15 years of doing it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, rent for retail spaces in Oak Lawn is about 25% cheaper per square foot compared with other areas of Dallas, such as Knox-Henderson or even Greenville Avenue, said Sarah Lamb, the director of urban retail at Davidson Bogel.<\/p>\n

Getting a foot into Oak Lawn still comes at a higher cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cUptown went through all that too, and we just all kind of closed our eyes and missed it with all the new high-rises,\u201d Milner said. \u201cYou didn\u2019t think about all these little retailers that went out. But my opinion is, it\u2019s just purely a proximity and pricing game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crush opened its doors in July 2024. The former furniture store required eight months of renovations to become a powerhouse club dedicated to hosting drag shows, karaoke nights and occasional monthlong seasonal themes, like its \u2018Hot Frosty\u2019 during its December pop-up.<\/p>\n

Getting to opening day was a rocky journey, said Andrew Perre as he sat beside his husband and co-owner, David Perre, inside the club. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe faced a lot of bumps in the road along the way,\u201d Andrew Perre said.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

David Perre (left) and Andrew Perre own Crush Nightclub in Oak Lawn on the corner of Cedar Springs and Oak Lawn Ave.<\/p>\n

Christine Vo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The Perres said their biggest setback was paying almost $12,000 in rent and loans while still working on the unopened club. Despite having a plentiful clientele, the bills overtook them in summer 2025, Andrew Perre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no wiggle room for a slow period or anything like that,\u201d Andrew said. \u201cSo it was working for a long time, but then it just got so hard mentally on us, because you\u2019re trying to balance everything, but then also stay happy and stay creative.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dance club right off the corner of the strip closed in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou pour your heart and soul into something, and at the drop of a hat, it\u2019s like, this could possibly all be taken away from you, after all the hard work, all the memories,\u201d David Perre said.<\/p>\n

There was also a lot of embarrassment, Andrew said. The two expected to see negativity and possible judgment after announcing the closing. Instead, they said they were encouraged by other Oak Lawn business owners to tell their story.<\/p>\n

The two posted a GoFundMe and shared the journey they went through to start Crush, and how much keeping the club open meant to them. Being honest about needing help to cover club expenses was scary, Andrew Perre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cried a couple times at home just because there were so many emotions at that time, like being scared of closing, then being vulnerable, and then just seeing so many people donate what they could,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The GoFundMe raised more than $8,000. While it wasn\u2019t enough to keep Crush open, the outpour of public support drew eyes to the club and bought them a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to find someone that we actually already knew, who\u2019s in the community and we sold a small percentage of our company to them for a certain amount, that basically was able to let us pay off all of our loans and really just be able to be in here doing what we do,\u201d Andrew Perre said.<\/p>\n

Crush reopened on Nov. 7 after closing for seven weeks.<\/p>\n

\"Bronx<\/p>\n

Bronx D. Davenport performs at Crush on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Oak Lawn. Six drag performers danced and lip-synced at the Hot Frosty holiday pop-up.<\/p>\n

Christine Vo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The neighborhood everyone wants to be in<\/p>\n

Establishments like Crush, Alexandre\u2019s and Eatzi\u2019s, along with a connection to the Katy Trail, large walkable areas and a united neighborhood, have made Oak Lawn the place to live, Milner said. On top of that, downtown\u2019s business circuit and the residential area of Highland Park have bled into Oak Lawn, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey kind of merged,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of the things have kind of pushed up into Oak Lawn, both from retail, residential, everything. In my opinion, and I\u2019m biased, but, it\u2019s the most attractive area for growth that\u2019s why we\u2019ve seen so many different high-rises and new retailers and all these other sub districts that connect to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oak Lawn Committee plays a key role in helping the area balance growth with stability.<\/p>\n

The committee was created in the 1980s when many residents saw just how popular Oak Lawn was becoming, said Adam Murphy, the committee\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s mission is to protect the quality of life within Oak Lawn, generally bounded within Woodall Rodgers Freeway, North Central Expressway, Highland Park, Inwood Road, Harry Hines Boulevard and Oak Lawn Avenue.<\/p>\n

If a multihousing complex or office space wants to be built in Oak Lawn, developers try to garner support from the Oak Lawn Committee before submitting zoning or project plans to the city for approval.<\/p>\n

While the group isn\u2019t a governing body, Murphy said they make suggestions to developers who present to them, such as changes to design standards, parking space size, the conservation of green space and preference on how buildings should be built.<\/p>\n

More people working in surrounding areas may find themselves wanting to live in Oak Lawn because of proximity to a plethora of amenities, including restaurants, retail, nightlife, parks, trails, cultural events and its great sense of community, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalent wants to be in these cool areas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Places like Norman\u2019s Japanese Grill and Formas Pilates, a high-end invite-only Pilates studio out of LA, opening in Oak Lawn are causing a shift in the neighborhood by attracting more people who want access to the fun and accepting place Oak Lawn already is, Lamb said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the retailers will want to go where there\u2019s a lot of density,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cI think that\u2019s a lot of the draw of Oak Lawn. But I also think that it sometimes just takes one or two really good operators to really kind of cultivate and make a change, either positive or negative, to a retail corridor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some are fearful that the changes in Oak Lawn, including new businesses, housing and luxury amenities, could steadily increase prices in the neighborhood and push out community members who have lived there for years.<\/p>\n

People being priced out of Oak Lawn is, unfortunately, a reality, Murphy said. Dallas, however, is seeing prices increase throughout various areas of the city, he said, not just in Oak Lawn.<\/p>\n

While affordability might be a citywide issue, seeing residents and businesses leave Oak Lawn behind due to pricing is still a loss, Murphy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you start to lose some of the people, and they get priced out and they\u2019ve lived here for a long time, hopefully their legacy and their history and the memories they built, still stays behind,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe it does.\u201d<\/p>\n

When David and Andrew Perre opened Crush, they wanted it to be another space in Oak Lawn where anyone could feel welcomed and have fun. Clubs like Crush not only continue the legacy of what Oak Lawn is, but also provide jobs, community and a safe space, David Perre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s anybody that wants to open a business in Oak Lawn, I would say, go for it,\u201d he said. \u201cShoot your shot, because if you don\u2019t shoot your shot, somebody else is going to shoot it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout his 21 years on the Cedar Springs strip, Daugherty said some of the customers he had when he first opened have sadly either moved away or passed on. He continues to greet new customers five days a week when the bar opens, and he plans to keep it that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to live on this street and run this business for the rest of my life, but there\u2019s one thing that has proven correct in the \u201860s, \u201870s, \u201880s, \u201890s, now the \u201810s and the \u201820s, is that this community is resilient, it is strong, it knows how to fight back and it knows how to persevere,\u201d he said. \u201cThat to me means more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the center of Dallas, in the middle of grand Highland Park and buzzing downtown, sits Oak Lawn,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":494205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,52560,1596,20716,50,11210,988,6270,9207,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-494204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bars-and-cocktails","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-lgbt","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-oak-lawn","14":"tag-restaurants","15":"tag-retail","16":"tag-small-business","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-tx","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115842873088373686","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}