Cedar Springs Wine Walk: Sip, Stroll, Support the Local LGBTQ+ Community

On Thursday, July 3, nearly 1,500 people came out to The Strip on Cedar Springs, Dallas’ most concentrated LGBTQ nightlife scene, for the Cedar Springs Wine Walk. Patrons lined up outside Round Up Saloon to purchase an official $20 Wine Walk glass that they could fill at any of the nearly 30 participating businesses on the strip.

The event was organized by the Cedar Springs Merchant Association (CSMA), a nonprofit group of business owners and community stakeholders, who work to support the businesses and culture that makes the strip an inclusive, LGBTQ-friendly neighborhood, whether the Wine Walk patrons are in the community, so to speak, or just visiting.

“When I came on board about eight months or so ago, we had 500 or maybe 600 people that would attend monthly,” CSMA board member-at-large Chad Mantooth said. “We’ve grown now. We’re selling out every month, and I think our highest month we did 1,900 or so.”

Ranging from as far down as Crush Nightclub on Oak Lawn Avenue and the UPS Store on Cedar Springs to Tacos Y Mas at Cedar Springs and Knight Street, businesses of all kinds open their doors to pour wine, promote their businesses and preserve the community they call home.

“One hundred percent of the money that we raise stays in the community,” Mantooth said. “We fund things like the Cedar Springs rainbow crosswalks, which were just redone, and we’ve hired a porter to go in three days a week to clean up the neighborhood — pick up trash, that kind of thing. We’ve redone the art walls that are in front of Alexandre’s, we’ve replaced lighting for the Oak Lawn Monuments … we do a lot of things with the money that's raised.”

While the nonprofit mission of Wine Walk is the priority for the CSMA, business owners have seen upticks in business, as well. According to Mantooth, businesses ranging from those like Aura Salon to Caven Enterprises (the group that operates Station 4, Sue Ellens, JR’s and more) have seen more foot traffic directly as a result of the monthly event.

“It’s all about bringing people to the neighborhood to not only sample some wine and have a good time, but also to support the LGBT businesses that are in the community … now more than ever, our community needs to support these merchants, and so that's what this event does," Mantooth says.

More versions of the Wine Walk are in the works, like a possible margarita walk. Expanding into different event types like Art Walks, where people can stroll and sip and buy work from local artists, is also currently under discussion. While Mantooth and the CSMA aren’t ready to show all their cards just yet, he is adamant that Cedar Springs’ best evenings are ahead.

The Cedar Springs Wine Walk is scheduled for the first Thursday of every month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The CSMA’s booth to purchase official glasses will be outside Round Up Saloon. The next walk takes place Thursday, Aug. 7, with the theme: Beach Please, It’s Wine Walk!”