Houston’s oldest operating Half Price Books location will soon likely be on the move to the Westchase Shopping Center. According to the Houston Chronicle, HPB leased space at 10915 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77042. This portion of the shopping center was originally part of the mall space, between Target and Weingarten. The space to be developed into the bookstore has most recently been Spirit Halloween and Mattress One. Prior to this, it was a Shoe Carnival, originally serving as a Walgreens in the mall days, and for a few years after. Attempts by Houston Historic Retail to confirm the …
Keep readingMonth: May 2022
What’s up with Goodwill’s new shade of Blue? The cause of all the changes and closings!
Howdy folks, and welcome to HHR. If you’re one of our regular thrifting viewers, then the changes at Goodwill are likely not unseen to you. In case you haven’t been in a bit, things at Goodwill have been changing. One of the most apparent changes with the development of the Goodwill Computer Works concept. Originally debuting in Austin in 1997, the concept would expand to Houston nearly 10 years later. It seems like Goodwill Houston has always been a bit behind, in new concepts, while other Texas-based Goodwill chains began to expand on the outlet concept years ago, our Outlets …
Keep readingThe Final Chapter of Sears in Pasadena, as Hometown Store in Pasadena Town Square Mall prepares to close
Well folks, welcome to the closing chapter of a failed experiment. Sears is killing off one of their Hometowns in a Mainline store. Seemingly pulling off the opposite of “fat guy in a little coat” was not enough to justify keeping a tiny piece of the what was the final Sears in Houston open. If you’ve been following Houston Historic Retail, we’ve covered the Pasadena Town Square/Marcoplaza Mall Sears from reopening in November to a more recent check-in this Spring. While the situation did vastly improve between the two visits, the clear winner in this situation has been the Willowbrook Mall …
Keep readingRetail News: Final Vacant Carl’s Jr. buildings take on new feathers as Slim Chickens
Carl’s Jr. left Houston in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Down to just a few locations, and seemingly unable to find staffing over the past few years, Carl’s had a less than grand time in the Houston market. The chain had only been in the Houston market about 10 years before pulling the plug. Various locations have found one-off tenants, like a subdivided 24 Subway, or even Taco Bueno’s reentry into the Houston market. However, starting early last year, permits were filed for a single Slim Chickens location in a former Carl’s Jr. on S. Main, signaling …
Keep readingA&W and Long John Silvers, a match made in Louisville but now found in Austin
Howdy folks, and welcome to HHR! Today we’re taking a break from H-Town and its affairs to check out a now rare eatery, that was once a common combo in Texas. A&W and Long John Silvers. Today we’re skipping the formal stuff, and skipping straight to the nostalgia. Well, most of the formal stuff at least, a little bit of history first. The food franchising giant “Yum Foods” which famously operates KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, actually started off as a merger between two existing conglomerates. Tricon Global (which ran the three aforementioned restaurants and had been spun off …
Keep readingThis former Weingarten still uses Grand Union decor 40 years later!
Howdy and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re driving to Texas City to visit a former Weingarten, largely still wearing its Grand Union era decor! This store is located at 915 6th St, Texas City, TX 77590, and originally opened in 1952. While the store has seen some expansions over the years, much of the original store is still in use. The Weingarten locations of the 1950s used what some consider to be a knock-off of a “Marina Style” Safeway. However, photographic evidence of these arched-roof stores being built by Weingarten can be seen as far back as 1951. …
Keep readingRetail News: National Grocer Lands former Belden’s Spot in Braeswood Square
Update 6/13: The new grocer has been confirmed as GFS. In early 2020 Belden’s in Braeswood Square closed their doors, after nearly 70 years of continuous operations closing a long chapter in Houston grocer. While official publications haven’t said exactly who will take this new spot, it is known that Braeswood Square, will once again be host to a national grocery tenant for the first time in 35 years! Belden’s initially started off as a member of the Super Value cooperative in 1951 with a location near the Bellaire Triangle. Belden’s would quickly expand over the next few years, jumping …
Keep readingHeadline News: Houston’s newest CVS moves into old Houston Post Building!
Houstonians of a certain age, remember when the city had more than one daily newspaper. Up until 1995, The Houston Post was the Chronicle’s last direct competitor before being dismantled as part of the slow decline of print media. It was often a dividing line to declare yourself as a Chronicle family or a Post family. The Post was considered to be more conservative, and the Chronicle more progressive, a division that went all the way back to the creation of the two papers. Marcellus Foster, a reporter assigned by the Houston Post to cover the Spindletop Oil Boom invested …
Keep readingRandall’s Going Out of Business Sale in Sugar Land and Why This Time It’s a Little Bit Different
Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Let me offer you a short introduction, as many people will likely find this via Google or Facebook (normal readers just play along). The following is a “Photo Essay”. It’s not meant to answer exactly why the Randall’s in Sugar Land is closing. However, it should offer some insight into how Randall’s got into the shape it is today. If you have an interest in this type of content or Retail News like when HHR broke the story that this location was going to close? Check us out on Facebook for regular …
Keep readingA Tour of Tomball Retail in 2000 and 1965
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston Loyal Houston Historic Retail readers may recall that a few weeks ago, we published a blog post showing screenshots from a YouTube video published by Dan Starr and filmed by his wife Amy that showed Tomball’s retail scene in the year 1998. Well, Dan has come through once again as he recently uploaded some video footage taken by Amy and her father in the year 2000. This footage, which was taken right after Y2K, shows some of the retailers from the 1998 video in greater …
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