Business Buzz

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Sprinkles Cupcakes to offer cupcake ATM

Sugar fiends will soon be able to get their fixes 24/7. This fall, Sprinkles will install a cupcake ATM at its Preston Center location. The company is based in Beverly Hills, where it has already opened its first cupcake vending machine. The machine will feature a touch-screen where you can choose a flavor, and individual cupcakes pop out for $4 each – 75 cents more than what it costs in the store. It’s the price you pay for convenience.

Sprinkles Cupcakes
4020 Villanova
214.369.0004

Performance Bicycle has closed

A major tenant is moving out of the Lakeside Village Shopping Center at the southwest corner of Central Expressway and Walnut Hill. Performance Bicycle closed its doors when its lease expired at the end of August. The shopping center is adjacent to the future site of Preston Hollow Village, a mixed-use development that will be anchored by Trader Joe’s by 2014. Cory McCord is the leasing director at Retail Plazas, Inc., which owns Lakeside Village. He says he is working with several potential tenants to replace Performance Bicycle – from retailers to medical facilities – but, nothing can be announced yet. The 8,000 square-foot store is the largest contiguous space in Lakeside Village but doesn’t necessarily generate the most traffic.

Lakeside Village Shopping Center
9665 N. Central

New at Preston Valley Shopping Center

The Preston Valley Shopping Center at Preston and LBJ is experiencing lots of activity, despite the construction mess that is the LBJ Express. Tippy’s Thai Café, a traditional breakfast/lunch/dinner Thai restaurant with American influences, recently opened. Owner Tipapom “Tippy” Klungpong cooked at InterContinental Hotel in Addison for 30 years, and found her home in Preston Valley based on references from her customers over the years. Bodacious Boutique, an independent plus-size retail store, has expanded to another space within the shopping center. Owner Paula Guthrie says in spite of the construction on LBJ, her business has increased 20 percent, sparking the need for more space. After four years on East Northwest Highway, the plus-size consignment store Larger Than Life has moved into Preston Valley. Co-owner Alice Sevier says she is excited about sharing clients with Bodacious Boutique. Texas’s first Kabbalah Bookstore had a soft opening in the shopping center at the beginning of July with plans for a grand opening party Sept. 9, featuring free mini lectures, refreshments and gift bags for all attendees. Publicists Kate Hall Johnson said there’s a substantial Kabbalah community in Dallas, which is what prompted the expansion. Finally, Mangiomo Italian Restaurant opened mid-July in the old Opa! space.

Tippy’s Thai Café
12835 Preston, Ste. 310
972.458.2233

Bodacious Boutique
12835 Preston, Ste. 320
972.763.0779

Larger Than Life
12817 Preston, Ste. 136
214.342.8550

Kabbalah Bookstore
12817 Preston, Ste. 130
214.446.0251

More business bits

1. Becks Prime is now open at the northwest corner of Preston and Forest near Torchy’s Tacos. This is the Houston chain’s first Dallas location and the 13th overall.
Becks Prime
5931 Forest
972.661.8681

2 After naming a new chef and updating its menu in June, the neighborhood Italian spot Ristorante Nicola has closed its Preston Center location and will re-open as Nick and Sam’s Grill by early October.

3 Spec’s Wines and Spirits, which took over the former Blockbuster space at the northwest corner of Preston and Royal, is now open. This is the second Dallas location.
Spec’s Wines & Spirits
5959 Royal
469.232.2200