After 27 years on Irving Boulevard, Competitive Cameras has packed up its lenses, tripods and secondhand gear and moved 10 miles north to a 10,000-square-foot building on Midway Road in Farmers Branch. The family-owned camera shop's Design District lease ended Wednesday, and owners Eugene and Melanie Jabbour had to be ready for customers by Thursday in a space roughly three times the size of the one they left behind.
The shop’s Design District chapter began in 1999 at Suite 107, 2025 Irving Boulevard, according to Eventbrite listings for its clearance sale, held Tuesday, September 22, through Saturday, September 26, ahead of the move. In an interview with Dallas News, Eugene Jabbour described the new store as a major change for the business after years in a crowded space.
Melanie Jabbour, who handles human resources, told Dallas News that the expanded workshop calendar is part of the store’s effort to help younger people develop photography and imaging skills. The new location carries merchandise priced from $15 to $3,000 and cameras ranging from $400 to $8,000, the outlet reported. It also has dedicated mini-showroom bays for four camera vendors and two lens vendors, including two-stall showrooms for Canon and Sony.
Why the Shop Chose Farmers Branch
The move followed a sharp increase in occupancy costs and difficulty finding a suitable Design District site. Dallas News reported that the store’s rent quadrupled and that the owners could not find an affordable building in the area with enough parking. Their analysis of customer addresses found that 95 percent of customers already came from north of LBJ Freeway, making Farmers Branch a practical fit for much of the existing clientele.
The relocation also comes amid rising industrial costs in the area. According to analysis from Partners Real Estate, the South Stemmons submarket, which includes the Design District, averaged $11.68 per square foot in industrial rent in early 2025—among the highest rates in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
A Neighborhood in Transition
The Design District’s changing commercial landscape sits within a broader city plan: the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development says the district’s TIF program was established to help transform the old Stemmons Industrial area into a diversified, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use neighborhood.
Competitive Cameras isn't the first legacy operator to move from the neighborhood. Community Beer Company left its original 21,600-square-foot Design District warehouse in February 2022 for a 70,000-square-foot campus at nearby Pegasus Park after outgrowing its original space.
A Building Bought for the Next Chapter
The Jabbours bought the Farmers Branch building in July 2025, according to Dallas News. The outlet reported that Melanie Jabbour advocated for the purchase.
Dallas News reports that Competitive Cameras now employs 11 people. Its preowned equipment business operates in a secondhand camera and lens market that Global Market Insights says is expanding rapidly as photographers trade in DSLR bodies for mirrorless systems.
From a Garland Storefront to a Family Legacy
Competitive Cameras traces back to Ramsey Jabbour, who opened the original store in Garland with his wife, Mary. Ramsey Jabbour later died, according to obituary records from Dignity Memorial. Eugene Jabbour, now 47, and Mary Jabbour, 74, carry the business forward; Eugene and his wife Melanie have been married 15 years, and he has a college-age son and two daughters in eighth and sixth grade.
Betting on Workshops and Community Events
The new store combines sales with services and activities. Dallas News reported that the business has expanded into content creation, cinematography, podcasting, church livestreaming and preowned sales. The Farmers Branch location adds high-end equipment rental and preowned departments, along with in-person workshops, classes and community events.
The move takes Competitive Cameras from its longtime Design District address to a larger, owner-purchased space in Farmers Branch, where the family plans to combine retail, rentals and learning programs.
