BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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Horror and heroes

Every day is Halloween at the Collector’s Crypt, a new boutique at 321 N. Zang at Eighth specializing in the horror genre. Andrea Jennings and Kathy Maloy opened in October after months of renovating a small house that previously had been used by squatters and had suffered a couple of fires. Jennings and Maloy have decades of experience in the resale business. They owned Metro Retro in Lakewood and Pop Logic on Lower Greenville. More recently, the Oak Cliff residents have been collecting horror memorabilia — movie posters, toys, costumes, etc. And they create their own collectible things, including “Nightmare Before Christmas” cake toppers for the goth bride in your life and other handmade crafts. A pop-up comic book and gaming shop also opened about a block away from the Collector’s Crypt. Red Pegasus Games and Comics, 409 N. Zang, is owned by married couple Kenneth Denson and Gabriel Mendez-Denson. The Densons in October signed a two-month lease on the space previously occupied by IndieGenius. They plan to operate there at least until the end of the year and then if things go well, relocate to a permanent space. Along with gam- ing tournaments and other events, the shop offers Saturday morning cartoons, complete with cereal and milk.

Paris and Tokyo

Joy Macarons opened at 839 W. Davis in November. Owner Liz Lanier started the bakery out of her home last year because, after she and her husband moved to Dallas four years ago, she missed the macaron shop on Los Angeles’ Rodeo Drive, where she used to work. Lanier sold her cookies at farmers markets and hosted a pop-up shop in her current storefront during Better Block Quatro in April. That’s not the only Francophile shop in town. Whisk Crêpes Café is the latest addition to the planned restaurant line-up at Sylvan Thirty, 1818 Sylvan. The restaurant is a venture from Julien Eelsen, who is from France. His family has a background in restaurants and hotels in Normandy, according to a media release. Whisk is taking a 645-square-foot space with 20 seats adjacent to where chef Teiichi Sakurai is planning his ramen shop, Ten. The menu will include sweet and savory crepes, as well as sides, wine, beer and cider. Ten ramen, by the way, is expected to open in January.

1 Balanced Oak Massage & Wellness is now open at 1119 N. Bishop. 2 Herrera’s opened a new location at 3311 Sylvan. The location on Illinois at Wright is still open. 3 Noble Rey brewery won’t open in Oak Cliff after all. The startup had leased a space at 1400 E. Jefferson, which has been inaccessible due to construction on the Dallas Horseshoe project. The brewery plans to open in the Design District instead.