The Deep Ellum Outdoor Market drew in large crowds on North Crowdus Street by featuring more than thirty small businesses, musicians, and artists from the Dallas area on Sept. 1.
“There’s great traffic here and it’s my demographic,” TeaRiffic Magick Emporium manager Danna Getske said. “People are younger and more open to different concepts and ideas.”
Getske’s business is called TeaRiffic Magick Emporium, operating since 2014. She sells loose leaf tea and magical items such as books, oracle desks and life forecasting services. She has been part of the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market on and off since March. Getske got her MBA from SMU in 2000 and also works as a financial analyst.
“I like to show people that you can be multidimensional,” Getske said.
Papi’s Kitchen is another small business in the market. Here, they sell homemade jams, jellies, relishes and mustards, which they gave out samples of at the market. They also have special flavors such as Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper jellies.
“You can multi-use some of them,” Papi’s Kitchen employee Lisa Molina said. “Like the pineapple jalapeño jelly, I use that as a marinate on my pork chops and chicken on a grill. We sold out of our apple pie one, but I use that on pancakes and waffles.”
Molina has been working for Papi’s Kitchen for about two months now and says it was the second time this business has been to the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market. She said she keeps coming back because the business is very successful here.
“Everyone seems to enjoy it because everyone wants fresh,” Molina said. “They don’t want the pre-made and store bought anymore.”
The proximity of SMU to Deep Ellum means that it is a popular area for students to visit. The Outdoor Market gives students ample opportunity to explore their city and the local businesses, artists, and musicians in it.
“I love Deep Ellum and have been wanting to go to more events in Dallas,” sophomore Zainab Noshahi said. “I thought this would be a great opportunity to hang out with friends and explore parts of Dallas that I haven’t seen before.”
Noshahi went to the Outdoor Market last weekend. Although she said that she was not sure if she would go again, she did enjoy her experience there.
“My favorite part about the market was talking with the business owners and getting to know more about what they do and what they are interested in aside from their daily jobs,” Noshahi said. “It even inspires me to delve into creative things that I’m passionate about myself.”
Other Deep Ellum Outdoor Markets are set to be on Sept. 15, Sept. 29 and even a Halloween-themed one on Oct. 20.
