May 18th marked the 5th birthday of Houston Historic Retail, The site existed a few years prior as a free WordPress blog. Some readers have been here since day one and I thank you all for your unending support.
Welcome back loyal reader! With the ongoing COVID crisis I haven’t really had any chances to get out and take that many photos. I have made some updates, like new photos of West Oaks Mall, and HEB Pantry Foods, along with new pages like Sunniland Furniture and Luther’s Bar-B-Q. One of the few trips I have taken during this time was out to Shiner, Texas to pick up some custom made masks. On the way there, my wife and I decided to stop in Halletsville for lunch. This was when dine-in was still banned.
Our first choice was Sonic, but we sadly found it out of business.Next on this list was Subway but we found it closed too.Moving forward it looked like even more of the town was closed. This Courthouse Annex started life as a Stanley Supermarket location.After Stanley’s bankruptcy this store was eventually sold to Godwin’s. At some point the county took over the majority of the building, and it looks like the former Subway is next.Driving up the road a bit we eventually saw some signs of like in the form of a Brookshire Brothers and a Division 1 Walmart located side by side.It’s rare enough to find a non supercenter still operating in a town big enough for a full line grocery store. Even more rare was the unprotected Garden Center in the parking lot. Most stores discontinued the use of parking lot garden centers, and the few that keep them only operate seasonally and with a barrier to prevent theft.The Brookshire Brothers location was even big enough to maintain a Connoco with a tiny C-StoreHeading back into town we ended up stopping at Dairy Queen which we had avoided because of the line. In retrospect the line was due to the fact that DQ was basically the only option.Past the classic 3 pole design, this DQ had something unusual about it. Can you spot it?This DQ has a second window! Not just has, but uses. It was tiny and was very obviously created by removing only a few bricks.Upon finally reach Shiner, I didn’t find much of interest to photograph. Although we really just grazed the town. One neat thing was this Subway Cafe, which means they sell extra items, this one also sells Mama Deluca Pizza.
While it wasn’t the grandiose trip we wished for, Shiner was a nice drive out into the country. I have some back-loaded blog posts that will likely be appearing soon. In addition to those keep your eyes out for some themed posts. Until next time loyal reader!
Happy Fourth of July! To celebrate lets check out two chains both on their second run in Houston. Steak ‘n Shake returned to Houston in 2008 with their Eldridge and 1960 location. With the Katy, Pearland, and Webster locations opening 2012-2013. The previous incarnation of Steak n Shake dated from the mid-1970s and would only last until 1978. While I was never able to find an exact reason for them leaving Houston, it seems that lack of proper management was the largest cause.
The signs had been removed completely by July 2ndWhile the Katy location has already been leased to Eggcellence I haven’t been able to visit Pearland or Webster to see their fate.
The second run of Steak ‘n Shake is deffinetly the winner for overall length, but there are gaps when the stores closed usually around a few months at a time. There were even times when signage was removed from the building in an attempt to lease but no tenants were found. While COVID has given major issues to many restaurant chains, Steak ‘n Shake was circling the drain before any of this began. For a while now, the company has tried to convert locations from corporate ownership, to franchises with many stores sitting empty awaiting a new fate.
The building is in rough shape, and looked this way prior to closing.The closing was hasty, with menus being left in place and only handwritten signs informing customers.
Right across I-10 from the former Steak’n Shake is where Taco Bueno has decided reentered the Houston market. As previously mentioned this is the second go around for Taco Bueno in Houston. In the 1980s the chain opened a small number of locations around Houston. These buildings had very striking adobe style architecture, with some former locations maintaining their themeing.
The Carl’s Jr sign was reused with the star extension removedThe exterior elements like the stars around the build were sanded away, and the entrances received new stone facadesMuch of the inside of the restaurant remains the same, including the soda fountain, which still has all the same drink selections.All the read themed seating was left in place, and after a much needing cleaning actually looks pretty nice.
Carl’s Jr. leaving the Houston area happened in a similar manner to Steak ‘n Shake, a few months ago. It’s also worth noting that while Taco Bueno was once associated with Carl’s Jr. this ended about 20 years ago. Hopefully Taco Bueno will be successful, but only time will tell, and with the current pandemic this may be a challenge.
Check out Houston Historic Retail on Facebook for updates: https://www.facebook.com/HoustonHistoricRetail
Today we say goodbye to the Spring Break Demolition Report, with a palty list of 3 demolitions. Saying goodbye doesn’t mean that I wont ever do this again. I anticipate a repeat next Spring Break, this was never meant to be a permanent solution but a tiding over. If you enjoyed this or not, let me know, I always appreciate feedback.
The feeder is where a neighbor’s house once stood. This development predates I-10 by about 15 years.
This is a list of the buildings which received a City of Houston demolition permit the day before this post.
Based on the feedback from my last attempt at a Demolition Report, there seems to be a good amount of support for inclusion of residential properties. As of Friday I’m going to attempt a Daily Demolition Report over the remainder of Spring Break.
This is a list of the buildings which received a City of Houston demolition permit the day before this post.
The famous Cypress of Lebanon don’t have anything on the cabinets in the very 60’s kitchen.
In July of 1981 Half Price Books opened in a prominent spot on University Boulevard. The first store to be built at the corner of University and Kirby was White House, which opened in June of 1941. A local department store chain, they were known for building smaller sized locations throughout the Houston suburbs. It would be purchased by the Meyer family, a group of family members who had been employed in various positions with Foley’s until they sold out to Federated in 1947. At this point they would switch the name to Meyer Bros. White House. In 1950, Only nine years after opening the original White House location, Meyer Bros rebuilt the University store. This was done to create an anchor location for the new announced “Village Shopping Center”. The grand opening included two free Braniff all-inclusive trips to Cuba!
The Original White House store in from a 1941 ad.The renovation was done in a Ranch Style to compliment the homes around, and the new “Village” shopping center.
Throughout the 1950s and 60s Meyer Bros. continued to operate out of this location. The company would eventually sell out during the late 50s to another department store chain which would quickly fold. The store space was rented out during the late 60s and early 70s to a few short lived clothing stores. In the early 70s, the space was divided. With the right side (Jos. A Bank) becoming a Vespa Dealership for many years, and the left side was first an exercise equipment shop, then an asian grocery store.
The Terrazzo tile entrance is one of, if not the only remaining original piece of flooring.This was one of the original entrances into Meyer Bros. The store would have expanded to the left where the bookshelves now sit.This wall is what was added to separate out the two parcels. This would have happened during the 1970s split. When the “Thai-Asian Market” took over the left half of the original building.
During the 1970s Rice Village experienced a decline, with the popularization of indoor malls, and suburban bound movement. The worst of this was during the late 70s. Many people focused on the idea that Rice Village was full of adult shops, seedy bars, and bad clubs. At one point, the Jos. A Bank portion of the building was used as a club. The reality of this was actually that Rice Village had become a mix of bars, some adult stores, and multiple ethnic food shops. Regardless traffic dropped, and so did the quality of tenants.
So far as I can tell, the balcony is in its original location.The grand staircase at the rear of the store does not actually sit against the rear wall. There is a small passageway leading to what would have been the other half of the store.I’m relatively sure a chandelier sat here at one point. It would have probably been removed after the Meyer Bros left.This was one of the coolest things in the store, an elevation plan showing the facade which was approved by the city. Notice that Fu’s Garden sits where Joseph A. Bank now sits.
When Half Price Books announced their intent to move into what had most recently been a Thai grocery store, some updates needed to be made to the building. It was basically the leftover 2nd story portion of the original Meyer Bros store, and whatever little space existed under it. As such HPB also acquired a small piece of the building next door. A book store was considered a higher end tennant for Rice Village at the time, even if it was used books. This would begin a chain of gentrification that gives us the Rice Village of today.
This back corner was expanded at some point with the room straight ahead being added on. The murals were one of my favorite parts of the HPB. Very well done, and providing useful information too!A floorplan of the first floor from 2010. The two rooms in the top left, were built as an addition, and the Kids rooms actually expand into the building next door.This was an addition room.As was this one, the difference in floor level leads me to wonder if this is a result of leftover portions of the original 1940s store.
In the end, according to Half Price Books what finally drew them out was the hike in rent. It’s somewhat ironic to consider that the fact that Half Price’s own existence is what led to its eventual downfall. In a city like Houston it’s not hard to imagine Rice Village falling apart, and being torn down for condos, or other cheap housing. However this building has managed to stick around into 2020, let’s hope it remains a bit longer.
