Happy New Year loyal reader, and welcome to another edition of retail news. This month we’re taking a look at a few different developments throughout the city.
Disco Kroger Closes
Let’s start with a bit of a letdown. Unfortunately, the Kroger at 3030 Montrose Boulevard, more affectionately known as Disco Kroger, is set to close tomorrow January 7th. I visited December 30th and the pharmacy along with most full-service departments had already been shut down. Shelves were still being stocked with what seemed to be overstock from nearby stores, but supplies were dwindling. Based on supply levels when I visited it seems possible that the store may not make it all the way to the 7th. When Disco Kroger opened in Montrose, they were far from the first supermarket in the Montrose area. That title goes to the first Houston Minimax. However, it is one of the longer lasting stores in the area. With the next oldest store being the demolished Fiesta that was closed in 2012, followed by the nearby Midtown Fiesta which shutdown last year. Kroger’s official statement for closing the store indicated that it was losing money and had been for some time.
I’m guessing when Kroger opened in 1978 it was the tallest building on this block.
Looking back towards the entrance you can see where the expansion started.
The produce stock was good but selection was limited.
Most chips had been pulled off the shelf, and what remained was discounted.
The same applied for wine and beer.
There was a customer using a hoverboard to push a large cartful of wine through the store
The Coke was still in stock and not discounted. I would guess this is related to the fact that soda is supplied by a distributor and not Kroger directly.
Visiting this store was like the reverse of a hurricane. Tons of water bottles, but no cleaning supplies.
Heading back out towards the edge of the store, this upstairs portion is a recent addition circa 2011. The deli still had some stock but it was limited to meats and cheese nothing prepared
This was all the bakery had out. I’m guessing they stopped ordering dough a while back.
The Meat & Fish counter was completely empty. Although this may just be because counter service had closed for the day.
The rack had a decent selection of regular cuts of beef. The meats were not discounted.
Many aisles were completely empty.
Signs and shelving are all still intact, although some items had already been tagged to move to other stores.
What little grocery selection was left was condensed towards the front of the store.
The selection was eclectic and likely unwanted goods from other stores.
Dairy had been completely moved out and to the last aisle.
The dairy selection was limited but present.
The pharmacy had closed permanently the day before and little was left in their department
Only one checkout was open, but self checkout was quite busy.
So long Kroger, it’s been nice, hope you find your paradise!
The closure of this Kroger leaves Montrose with one less grocery option. Now only H-E-B directly serves the Montrose area. It seems likely that most Kroger shoppers will shift to H-E-B. With the lack of affordable grocery stores in the area you may wonder why Kroger is unable to make a profit. Kroger expanded this store in the 1980s after demolishing the final house on the block. It seems that the original property owner never sold the land to Kroger but rather leased it to them. This expansion helped Kroger stay current but was essentially the final update this store received save for some cosmetic remodels which exposed some great Disco Kroger remnants. With the developments such as the tower next door, it’s likely the price of the lease plus limited floor space really does have this Kroger stuck at a chokepoint.
OnCue Opens
The Kaleidoscope Center was demolished over a year ago after the property was purchased by Phillips 66. The petrochemical company conveniently has their headquarters a few blocks North of Westheimer and supposedly wanted a flagship store to flaunt their brand. This however presented an issue as Phillips 66 is mainly a refiner, and doesn’t have an established connivence store brand. They called in Stillwater, Oklahoma based OnCue Express who seems to have a partnership with Phillips 66. The store was constructed by The Riverside Group which based this store off the OnCue prototype they developed in 2004.
The gas canopy and pumps at this location are in complete Phillips 66 branding, compared to older OnCue stores which sold gas under their own brand.
There are five entrances, three along the front side of the store and one around the rear.
The store even features a drive-thru which we’ll talk about at the end
The fully canopy leading from the pumps to the store seems to be a feature missing from more modern stations, but I like them.
Once inside you can see the store is similarly laid out to most other large chain stores.
The auto selection and other general merchandise all has under shelf lighting. This gives the products a nice lit up look.
The drink selection at OnCue is on par with newer Circle K stores.
The snack selection is a bit wider than most other C-Stores and somewhat resemble Buccee’s
In fact… the selection really resembles Buccees
The small frozen desert section, in some other OnCue locations this space was self serve Froyo
The long wall of slushies, teas, icees, and sodas
The ICEE Company has licensed their machines to OnCue to sell their drinks as FrozenCues
The roller grill selection as this store is huge compared to most other brands. To the right is a station for coffee prep
Across from the roller grill is more food prep area, including condiments and nacho stations
The store does feature a grill which you order from using touchscreens.
Both the grill and seating were closed when I came on New Years day. Although they do seem to be operating normally.
The coffee selection is quite impressive too including Starbucks style machines that grind the beans before roasting your coffee
This side of the store also contains a grab and go cooler full of sandwiches, fruit, and microwaveable burritos
On the opposite side of the store you’ll find a walk in beer cave with lots of selections
A Texas craft beer cooler, and while I can’t vouch that everything here was from Texas the big ones like Shiner were there
This side also has the bathrooms, and while I don’t usually include bathroom pics check out this engraved granite sign
The gas pumps have more choices than a
The drive-thru feature of the store caught me off guard as you can’t order items from the grill but they will sell you some pop.
The sign features the Phillips 66 logo above OnCue which does not reflect the setup of older stores.
As Phillips 66 does not maintain their own line of convenience stores this location was developed in partnership with OnCue, and marks their entry in to the Texas market. The store is nice, very modern, and the staff are all very polite.
Bill Miller’s Eyes has their eyes on West Houston
Any Houstonian worth their salt has driven passed a Bill Miller Bar-B-Q with a bit of arrogance. Different areas of Texas have always been preferential about our drive-thru BBQ joints. Houston has been a battlefield of sorts with Pappas reigning king over smaller chains like Goode Co, killing competitors like Luther’s and holding their own against newcomers like Rudy’s. According to an interview in the Houston Business Journal with Bill Miller’s CEO Jim Egbert they have the company may soon join the battle as they have their eyes on expanding in West Houston and Katy.
The newer building design used by Bill Miller will likely be what the Houston and Katy are based on Source: Google Streetview.
This is not the first time Bill Miller Bar-B-Q has discussed plans on expanding in Houston, in a 2018 interview with then newly promoted CEO Egbert it was said that the company wanted to be able to transition to new markets like Houston, Waco, and College Station. This time around the plan is to supply the Houston locations via trucks from San Antonio while previously the CEO had envisioned building a second commissary and bakery to serve Houston based stores. With new stores opening further North on the I-35 corridor Bill Miller has shown they could handle the range, the question to be answered is can they handle Houston’s market.
I wish I was able to visit Disco Kroger one more time before they closed. As usual, I’m nowhere near the places I would like to frequent, and don’t get around to making a trip until it’s too late. I liked the smaller format of the store and how pedestrian friendly it was compared to most Kroger stores in the area.
The OnCue Express station looks not so great in my opinion. The earthy tile tone doesn’t blend well with the colorful merchandise and lighting throughout the store. Despite being off Westheimer, it looks super unfriendly for pedestrians/cyclists. I’ve seen smaller stores that are able to incorporate a jutting sidewalk entrance or at least painted demarcation for no parking. It’s safer and convenient for people from the street or from the gas pumps to get to the store entrance than squeezing between parked vehicles. No bike racks. I’m guessing the drive-thru won’t allow pedestrians/cyclists either. Houston needs less drive-thrus, not more, especially unnecessarily at a gas station. Not to mention the drive-thru isn’t really for the restaurant…
I’m not a fan of touchscreen kiosks, but it’s at least better than forcing people to use mobile applications. Do they even take cash and change? I feel the Buc-cee’s comparisons aren’t needed as there’s been plenty of large-sized convenience store and gas station combos for a while that sell a variety of snacks and merchandise. Overall, disappointed they didn’t do something more cooler like preserve some element of the Kaleidoscope Center in the design of the store, add solar panels to the pump canopy, add electric charging pumps, put more photos/murals of Phillips 66 branding/history inside, or put some greenery into the mix. In some ways, I feel it’s even worse than a normal gas station and a step below what I think gas stations of the future should be.
I wish I was able to visit Disco Kroger one more time before they closed. As usual, I’m nowhere near the places I would like to frequent, and don’t get around to making a trip until it’s too late. I liked the smaller format of the store and how pedestrian friendly it was compared to most Kroger stores in the area.
The OnCue Express station looks not so great in my opinion. The earthy tile tone doesn’t blend well with the colorful merchandise and lighting throughout the store. Despite being off Westheimer, it looks super unfriendly for pedestrians/cyclists. I’ve seen smaller stores that are able to incorporate a jutting sidewalk entrance or at least painted demarcation for no parking. It’s safer and convenient for people from the street or from the gas pumps to get to the store entrance than squeezing between parked vehicles. No bike racks. I’m guessing the drive-thru won’t allow pedestrians/cyclists either. Houston needs less drive-thrus, not more, especially unnecessarily at a gas station. Not to mention the drive-thru isn’t really for the restaurant…
I’m not a fan of touchscreen kiosks, but it’s at least better than forcing people to use mobile applications. Do they even take cash and change? I feel the Buc-cee’s comparisons aren’t needed as there’s been plenty of large-sized convenience store and gas station combos for a while that sell a variety of snacks and merchandise. Overall, disappointed they didn’t do something more cooler like preserve some element of the Kaleidoscope Center in the design of the store, add solar panels to the pump canopy, add electric charging pumps, put more photos/murals of Phillips 66 branding/history inside, or put some greenery into the mix. In some ways, I feel it’s even worse than a normal gas station and a step below what I think gas stations of the future should be.