At 6:30 on a Friday morning in October, the lights came back on at 100 State Street. The corner had been dark since Corner Bakery Café closed after 26 years. It was one of Southlake Town Square's original tenants from the 1999 opening, and for a long time it was the Square's morning coffee and breakfast-meeting spot. On Oct. 9, 2026, Ascension Coffee opened in that space. It was the Dallas-born company's seventh café in DFW, and it opened at 6:30 a.m.
The same pattern has played out across the Square since late 2025. Corner Bakery, Francesca's, Peloton, Eddie Bauer and Nike all left. Where a reason was reported, it came from a national decision about the brand rather than anything specific to Southlake. Each of those spaces has since been filled or claimed by another brand, though some sat empty much longer than others.
The address ledger
This is the clearest way to see the year. Each row is a storefront that lost a familiar tenant, along with who has it now.
| Address | Who left | Who took the space | Status as of late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 State St. | Corner Bakery Café, closed by Dec. 2025 | Ascension Coffee | Open since Oct. 9, 2026 |
| 213 Grand Ave. E. | Peloton, closed April 26, 2026 | Reformation | Open since Aug. 11, 2026 |
| 214 State St. | Francesca's, closed March 29, 2026 | BYLT Basics | Open since Oct. 8, 2026 |
| 321 State St. | Market by Macy's, closed 2025 | Crate & Barrel | Open since June 25, 2026 |
| Former Eddie Bauer space, Main St. | Eddie Bauer, closed by May 2026 | LOFT | Announced, no opening date |
| 181 Grand Ave. | Nike, closed summer 2026 | American Eagle Outfitters | Signage up, no opening date |
The time between tenants varied. Peloton closed on April 26, and Reformation opened at the same address on Aug. 11, about three and a half months later. Francesca's closed on March 29, and BYLT Basics opened at 214 State Street on Oct. 8. The Corner Bakery corner took the longest. It sat empty for most of a year, and Ascension opened later than planned. In August, Southlake Style said the café was targeting that month, and it opened in October.
Why the familiar names left
For the closures with a reported cause, that cause was national. According to Southlake Style, Corner Bakery's parent company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2023. The chain then changed hands and closed underperforming locations nationwide as part of a restructuring under Dallas-based SSCP.
Nike's store at 181 Grand Ave. opened in 2022 and closed after four years. Southlake Style's August Town Square update tied the closure to a wider retail pullback. That summer the company closed or announced closures in Tampa, Louisville, Kansas City, The Woodlands, Atlanta and Naperville, among other cities. Nike still has its clearance store at Grapevine Mills nearby.
Eddie Bauer's closure was part of what the same outlet called a broader shift in the brand's physical retail strategy. Market by Macy's, the 19,000-square-foot space that came before Crate & Barrel, was one of the first Town Square closures of 2025.
Who chose the Square, and what they brought
The new tenants fall into three groups, and each group filled a different kind of gap.
Returning names. Crate & Barrel was also an original Town Square tenant, one of the first businesses on the Square alongside Corner Bakery. Southlake Mayor Shawn McCaskill announced its return in October 2025, and the store opened June 25, 2026, in the former Market by Macy's space at 321 State St. Community Impact covered the opening day. LOFT also operated on the Square before and is returning in the old Eddie Bauer storefront on Main Street. So the year in which one original tenant left also brought another one back.
Brands new to Tarrant County. ON Running, the Swiss performance brand, has confirmed a 6,000-square-foot store at 415 Grand Ave. E., between Alo and Sunglass Hut. It will be the brand's first Tarrant County storefront. It joins Alo, which held its Town Square grand opening on Sept. 26, 2025, at 331 Grand Ave. E. Rothy's opened at 307 Grand Ave. E. on April 14, 2026. Reformation took Peloton's former 2,007-square-foot space near lululemon.
Brands moving within the Square. L'Occitane en Provence moved from its longtime location at 1428 Civic Place to a new storefront at 1251 Main St. American Eagle's sign is going up at 181 Grand Ave., next door to its sister brand Aerie. These moves show existing tenants staying and shifting locations on the Square.
The most noticeable change for a typical day is at 100 State Street. Corner Bakery was mostly a morning spot. Ascension's Southlake café has a full espresso bar, seasonal coffee flights and a slow bar with rotating single-origin coffees. The all-day menu runs from migas and steak hash to a Latin Chicken & Grain Bowl. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, so the corner where people used to stop for morning coffee now stays open into the evening four nights a week.
The three spaces still in transition
Three storefronts have been claimed but have not opened yet:
- LOFT, in the former Eddie Bauer space on Main Street, was announced in August with no opening date.
- ON Running, at 415 Grand Ave. E., is still listed as "Opening Soon" in the Town Square store directory. The brand's target was the second half of 2026.
- American Eagle Outfitters, at 181 Grand Ave., had new window signage as of Oct. 23, and an opening date has not been announced.
Those three addresses are the ones to watch as the holiday season starts. If any of them open before Thanksgiving, the Square will go into the holidays with every one of the past year's closures already replaced.
Nov. 21 is the first big night for the new lineup
The biggest test for the new storefronts is coming soon. Home for the Holidays, Southlake's holiday kickoff and Christmas tree lighting, is set for Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 1400 E. Southlake Blvd. The event is held every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This year's date is one day earlier on the calendar than in 2025, when it fell on Nov. 22.
Here is the plan based on what the city has published so far:
- Park in a garage. Admission is free, and parking is free in the east garage at 1451 Federal Way and the west garage at 351 State St. Accessible parking is on Main Street in front of Bath & Body Works and Mi Cocina, with access from both the east and west ends of Main.
- Expect the familiar free activities. The official tree-lighting page lists Santa photos, a three-lane snow hill, performances by local school groups and a fireworks show after the tree lighting. Craft Corner activities are free as well.
- Watch for the lighting time. The 2026 schedule still lists the programs at Rustin & Family Park and Frank Edgar Cornish IV Park as "TBA," and the tree-lighting time has not been posted. Last year, according to the city's 2025 guide, the tree was lit at 6 p.m. and a one-minute fireworks show followed right after. That was 2025's schedule, so check for this year's time before you go.
- Fit in a stop at the new tenants. Nov. 21 is a Saturday, so Ascension is open until 9 p.m., half an hour after the event ends. Reformation, BYLT Basics and Crate & Barrel are all heading into their first Town Square holiday season.
The city's holiday pages also still list Holiday of Lights on the McPherson Park trail. Community Impact reported its debut last winter as a one-third-mile trail open from 5 to 10 p.m. daily. The city lists it as free with no ticket required, though the 2026 to 2027 dates have not been posted yet.
Sophie Tel Diaz Real Estate keeps track of every storefront change on the Square, along with the homes around it, for clients across Southlake. If you'd like to know what your home near Town Square is worth this season, request a complimentary home valuation and we'll prepare one for your address.
