STREET TALK

If you were a baker from Paris and you wanted advice on opening a bakery in Dallas, to whom would you turn? Stanley Marcus, of course! At least, that solution seemed obvious to baker Patrick Es-querre, owner of La Madeleine bakery, located at Airline Road and Mockingbird Lane. When Esquerre came to Dallas with the idea of opening the first La Madeleine in the United States (there are 50 in France), he called on Marcus for advice on where to open. Marcus said, “Dallas, of course!” Esquerre was back at Marcus’ door twice again, asking about location and the store’s logo. Each time, Marcus gave his approval. What did it take for the cunning baker to gain the enthusiastic ear of such an astute advisor? A box of Da-vidoff cigars from Geneva. Ah, the French are so direct.



For those people who think that street vending in Dallas is a no-profit venture, Steven Kahn has proven them wrong. At 22, he is the first hot dog vendor in the Central Business District. Equipped with a permit to operate three stands downtown, a cart, some nacho cheese, relish and sauerkraut, he made $2,000 in 10 days.



If, while in Mercantile Bank, you spy some strange-looking men dressed in black leather, don’t worry. DEVO, the nationally acclaimed New Wave band from Ohio, was in Dallas recently, supposedly doing a little banking at Mercantile. When we called the bank, we asked for the officer in charge of DEVO’s account. We were immediately connected with an officer, but, because of banking ethics, she wouldn’t acknowledge it. DEVO’s manager, Bill Gerber, simply said, “DEVO doesn’t need loans.”