A Dallas businessman who lost most of his parking spaces to progress over the years is fighting to keep the few he has left to stay in business.
For 21 years, Scott Lim has run Scott’s Liquors on South Lamar Street at Cadiz Street.
“Right now, I just want to stay, make my living, put the money for my kids’ education. That’s the one thing,” he said.
The area was skid row when he opened, but he survived to see a revival that now features a new movie theater and apartments.
Many customers can walk to his store. And the proposed station location for high speed rail to Houston is blocks away on Cadiz Street, a potential source of business Lim only learned about from a reporter Tuesday.
“I didn’t know until today. Thank you sir,” he said.
In the meantime, Lim said he still needs parking spaces to serve customers and parking that once surrounded his store has been whittled away over the years.
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The city replaced head in parking spaces in front of the store with a wide new sidewalk four years ago. A parking lot he used on the north side of his business was replaced with a park.
Now, Lim said city officials have told him two of his four remaining spaces on the south side of his business along Cadiz Street are too close to another new sidewalk and must be closed. Lim said the city plans to place huge rocks beside the sidewalk to block use of the spaces.
“If you take two more of my parking lot, I don’t know what will happen next,” Lim said.
Customer Michael Curtis said he found Lim’s store to be an oasis when he first started working in the area 13 years ago.
“You kind of came through here with your windows up and doors locked,” Curtis said. “And it’s cleaned up a lot. Scott’s always been a good businessman.”
Standing beside his car parked in one of Lim’s remaining spaces Tuesday, Curtis said Lim might not survive another reduction.
“Taking his spots is going to make it harder for people to get in here. They’re going to see there’s no spots and they’re going to take their business elsewhere,” Curtis said.
Lim said he offered to repaint stripes on the spaces at his expense to avoid the sidewalk. He said he will plead with city leaders for support at Wednesday’s Dallas City Council meeting.
“We can work together on this thing here, by not taking my parking lot,” Lim said.
NBC 5 messages for Dallas city officials were not returned Tuesday.
