Downtown Dallas Is Dazzling Again As A Holiday Destination

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - There are no shoulder-to-shoulder crowds here, no mad dash to 70% off, but downtown Dallas may be dazzling again as a holiday destination location.

"This street has just blown up all kinds of great, interesting, beautiful buildings, and things to do. Amazing," said Dallas resident Betsy DeWitt.

DeWitt and her family joined dozens of others filling the exchange, the downtown food hall, aligned with downtown's AT&T Discovery District as more families discover or rediscover holiday shopping traditions.

"We used to work downtown, and then the pandemic hit, so to see this happening's amazing," said Steven DeWitt, also of Dallas.

"Downtown is doing well, booming, come down and join us," said Amy Tharp with Downtown Dallas Inc.

She says there are 70 shopping locations in downtown, and that doesn't include places like Victoria Vandigriff's boutique in nearby Victory Park.

"After working down here for a year, I realized a need for a boutique gift shop, it's the perfect area," Vandigriff said.

The downtown shopping experience includes everything from outdoor markets to the tradition of Neiman's.

Margo McClinton Stoglin and her mother called it a "downtown Dallas must."

"We just wanted to continue to support the community, the commerce, even though [we're] in the middle of a pandemic. Trying to get our economy going forward is important," McClinton Stoglin said, before adding she wanted to "make this Christmas special."