15 September 11 - 17, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Sweet Smell of Success We catch up with the deli and flower shop, Corner Market on Lower Greenville, after serving the neighbor- hood for two decades and counting. BY SIMON PRUITT B efore you even step into Corner Market or taste its delicious sandwiches or smell its fresh flowers, you’ll first notice the way it looks. Those square-pat- terned tin ceilings and mosaic tiled floor next to countertops and furniture that’s just about every shade of brown. Maybe you’ll notice the white tiled tabletops too, or the light green Spanish door that connects the flower shop to the deli side. No matter what you’re drawn towards first, immediately clear that this is the product of a single dis- tinct vision, which it was, but not in the way you’d expect. “I never actually drew up a blueprint for this,” says owner Chuck Cole. “I knew what I wanted to do.” The market was born in 2005, Cole was fresh off of numerous stints through Eu- rope and trips to New York City and Chi- cago, absorbing all that he took in and spitting it out onto a nearly 100-year-old building on Lower Greenville and McCom- mas Boulevard. Cole came from a career in commercial real estate before and an affin- ity for going to Jimmy’s Food Store for lunch. His concept for Corner Market was sim- ple: a catch-all deli, flower shop and coffee bar, complete with pastries and a grab-and- go counter, all within walking distance of his East Dallas home. His menu is just as local to the neighborhood as he is, with sandwiches named after the M Streets like the Martel Porobello Mushroom, Marquita Miami Club and McMillan Roast Beef. “I love bread,” he says. “My first word was ‘mama.’ My second word was ‘bread,’ and my third word was ‘more bread.’” Upon opening, he tried to bake all his own for the sandwiches, but soon realized just how hard it is to maintain. These days, Corner Market uses bread from local Em- pire Baking Company, and has doubled the amount of sandwich options since first opening. They’re as tasty as it gets. We’re partial to the Melrose Chicken Breast or the roast beef specialty sandwich, The Texan. Plus, they’re as easy on the wallet as they are on the stomach, with each sandwich coming in at under $10. In the morning, tradi- tional breakfast options are available until noon, as the espresso and tea bar keeps serving quality at low prices all day (you can get a latte here for under $4). On the roof, Cole’s set up an herb, fruit and flower garden that’s picked from and served downstairs, including blueberries and echinacea flowers. The taste speaks for itself, buoying Lower Greenville’s smoky daytime haunt through 20 years in business this November. Cole re- flected on the shop two decades in, and re- called our last check-in in a 2018 article aptly titled “On a Changing Lower Greenville, a Dallas Deli Classic Hangs on for the Ride.” Hanging On for the Ride Back before the pandemic, in the throes of street construction, foot and vehicle traffic slowed to a halt. Business was flagging, and Cole was quick to point out the number of other small businesses that had gone under in Lower Greenville. The article ends on a dicey note, with Cole musing on how long his business might be able to hold out through the construction. “Well, I have a time limit,” Cole told us. “It’s a lot of work.” Months after new condominiums were completed next door, the COVID-19 pan- demic hit, forcing Cole’s market into yet an- other corner. “Maybe this is my signal to stop,” Cole re- members thinking. “Because I figured if I close, I wouldn’t reopen.” But instead, the obstacles inspired him. “I’m not gonna stop, especially not gonna stop because of this,” he says. “So instead of closing or cutting back, we stayed open ev- ery day.” Despite his food and flower vendors clos- ing, Cole figured out a way to stay open through the lockdown and into the post-CO- VID landscape. He says the period “re-ener- gized” him, and is proud to boast that he didn’t have to let anyone go. That last note seems most important to Cole. Employees at Corner Market describe the team as a family, and Cole certainly seems to feel the same way. One cook named Abel has been at the restaurant for 17 years. Another, Sylvia, was hired 19 years ago. To put it in perspective, he recalls meeting her son as a small child, and eventually bought him his first laptop for school years later. Now, he’s in medical school and several inches taller than Cole. Speaking of, Sylvia walks by our table while Cole is raving about her. I ask what’s made her stay for so long. “He’s a really good boss,” she says, before going in for a hug with Cole “I guess they like it here,” Cole says with a smile. “But it really helps keep everything consistent.” It’s sweet, yes, but also good business. Corner Market’s popular Morningstar Chicken Salad has been made with the same hands for nearly two decades now, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Aside from his cooks, Cole maintains a good relationship with his front-of-house employees too. “The younger ones out front, they’re al- ways coming and going,” he says. “But espe- cially around Christmas time, they all filter back in.” After 20 years of seeing his vision for his comprehensive marketplace come to frui- tion, Cole appears to be just as committed as ever. In celebration of the anniversary, he’s treating himself to a new wave of re- frigeration gear and will soon add ice cream to the menu. For the formal anniver- sary, Cole says that he might revert the menu back to the original 2005 prices for a day, and we’ll be stopping by to load up if he does. “It’s like having children,” he says. “One minute you want to strangle their neck, but most of the time you would just give your life for them. As long as I love it more than I hate it, I’ve got a while.” ▼ FESTIVALS GET YOUR LEDERHOSEN READY HERE’S A ROUND UP OF THINGS TO DO WITH LOTS OF PUMPKIN SPICE. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY F all is here and with it comes count- less excuses to get outside. Festivals are just the place to take in the fresh, crisp weather, with general fall festivals of- fering up seasonal flavors and activities and Oktoberfest events providing ample oppor- tunities to load up on beer, sausage and pretzels. While there are plenty of fun events com- ing up in Dallas, we also feel like | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish Simon Pruitt Owner Chuck Cole (center) with his staff. Visit Addison Addison is one of many cities in Texas throwing an Oktoberfest celebration. >> p16
