If it's fall in Dallas-Fort Worth, that means store openings now through November to capture the new season and holiday shopping.

Among them are first-to-the-market retailer CB2 from Chicago and brands expanding with more locations, which is what Royal Blue Grocery is up to.

CB2 has breathed new life into an old building in the Knox District. There must have been some serious competition for the building on McKinney Avenue that formerly housed luxury retailer Forty Five Ten.

"We feel super lucky to have found this space. We were looking for something unique and fell in love with its boutique feel," said Samie Barr, CB2's chief marketing officer. CB2, which sells modern design home furnishings, is down the street from its sister chain, Crate & Barrel, and opened last weekend.

The Knox District has a unique concentration of home furnishing stores, and that's also the case in other cities where CB2 has opened stores, including Seattle, Scottsdale and Boston, Barr said.

Interior of CB2 at 4510 McKinney Ave., in Dallas, Texas on September 25, 2019. (Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor) (Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)

Clustering together with competitors is a response to how customers like to shop. "People don't want to run around the city when furniture shopping," Barr said.

So how is CB2 different from Crate & Barrel?

"Our price points are a bit more approachable in some categories, and it's a different collection, a bit more eclectic pieces with a timeless edge to them," she said.

Spotted on a recent visit: a black-and-white striped cube end table, a peace sign-shaped wreath, and a round cheese grater with a handy wooden handle.

Royal Blue Grocery

The new Royal Blue Grocery has opened in another landmark Dallas building.

Royal Blue is on the street level of the 50-story Trammell Crow Center, which just completed a $140 million makeover. The building, at 2001 Ross Ave. in the Arts District, accommodated Royal Blue's need for outdoor seating.

The store opened Sunday, and while office workers weren't around, Royal Blue co-owner Zac Porter said churchgoers discovered the store. Within a couple of blocks are First Baptist Dallas, First United Methodist and Cathedral Guadalupe.

Interior of Royal Blue at 2001 Ross Avenue in Dallas' Arts District. (Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)

Porter said the partners who own Royal Blue in Dallas — he and his wife, Emily Ray-Porter, and Cullen Potts — will continue to tweak the new store for the neighborhood.

This store is just a few blocks from Royal Blue's first downtown store at Main and Ervay streets, which mostly serves downtown residents, he said, but the Arts District location is "one of the densest quadrants of Dallas."

And it's not just a cultural district, he said.

Within four blocks of the store are 11 million square feet of office space, 1,000 hotel rooms built or under construction, and 1,000 condos, including the luxury Museum Tower, which Porter said he's already talking to about how to fill tenants' needs.

Porter and Ray-Porter live a few blocks away.

"This area has been underserved for a long time," Porter said. "We're seeing walkers and joggers on the weekend and families from church on Sundays. We're so close to Klyde Warren Park."

They're not finished expanding Royal Blue, which opened its first local store in Highland Park Village. The company has opened a kitchen commissary in Oak Cliff at 634 W. Davis St. for all three stores.

Before the end of this year, the plan is to open a Royal Blue store in that location, too, he said.

Exterior of Royal Blue at 2001 Ross Ave., in Dallas. This is the second Royal Blue Grocery in downtown Dallas. The first one opened at Main and Ervay streets last year. (Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)

More new stuff

Tom Thumb is opening the first supermarket in Heath. Residents of this upscale suburb haven't had to drive too far — just up the road to Rockwall — to go to several grocery stores, but this one is within their city limits. The 55,000-square-foot supermarket opens Friday with what will also be Heath's first Starbucks. Shoppers will also find hot mini donuts, which Tom Thumb rolled out in its new Uptown Dallas store in April, along with self-serve macarons and mochi. The store is also baking gluten-free brownies and cupcakes. It will have a big selection of organic groceries and an expanded prepared food section that will cook burgers and make sandwiches. Plus, there's indoor and outdoor seating and curbside grocery pickup.

Stein Mart, which operates 41 stores in Texas, including 13 in Dallas-Fort Worth, is now selling kids clothing. Years ago, the Florida-based retailer said, it had a significant children's business, and customers have been asking the chain to bring the category back.

Neiman Marcus is bringing several new Italian brands to the U.S. Making their stateside debut are DiCamillo Baking Co., Di Martino Pasta and SMEG electrics. About 100 items, half of them exclusive to Neiman Marcus, are in what the store is calling a "Taste of Italy" collection that's sold online and in select stores. Prices start at $15 and go up to $10,000. You guessed it: That top price is for a Dolce & Gabbana kitchen appliance, a colorful SMEG brand stove.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet opened a 39,000-square-foot store in Fort Worth's Camp Bowie West Center in August. It's only the third in this region so far for the Pennsylvania-based retailer. The first one opened in Mesquite, and the second one opened in Lewisville across from Music City Mall.

Retail therapy explores new ideas for shoppers and the ways retailers are trying to stay relevant.

Looking for more retail coverage? Click here to read all retail news and updates. Interested in other topics? Click here to see more newsletters from The Dallas Morning News.