Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston
Longtime readers here at Houston Historic Retail might remember our Vintage Ads series of posts. It’s been a while since we’ve posted a new Vintage Ads post so it seems like a good time to make a new installment in the series. This installment of the series will look at retail ads from the August 16, 1989 issue of the Houston Chronicle. The thumbnail images included in the post might be too small to read, but simply click on the links below the images to see full-sized images of the ads.
First, we’ll take a look at a couple of retailers who had locations across Houston, but both of these retailers had locations at the North Oaks Mall shopping center on FM 1960 W. In fact, the first ad we’ll be looking at is for the grand opening of the North Oaks Mall Drug Emporium store. The North Oaks Mall Drug Emporium was not in the mall part of North Oaks, but rather across Breck Street in the old Handy Dan spot. Today, the old Handy Dan/Drug Emporium spot has been subdivided and houses an empty former Anna’s Linens storefront and the 99 Cents Only store.
Perhaps the grand opening of the North Oaks Drug Emporium was not quite the spectacle that this ad implies, but I remember shopping there after they opened and being impressed by the store. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 30)
Drug Emporium might be a retailer who is unfamiliar to many of our readers. Although Drug Emporium’s three Houston-area locations all closed in the 1990s, the North Oaks location closed in 1995, Drug Emporium is still around elsewhere in Texas. Je of the Louisiana & Texas Retail Blog has made posts about the Drug Emporium stores in Waco and Longview. Those posts should give one some idea of what Drug Emporium was like when they were in Houston as Drug Emporium has not changed their look much at all over the years. The best way to describe Drug Emporium otherwise is to say that they were a lot like Phar-Mor, another chain that had just moved into Houston in 1988 along with Drug Emporium. Phar-Mor and Drug Emporium were basically supersized pharmacy stores that were two or three times the size of a modern Walgreens. They bridged the gap between pharmacy stores and discount stores while having pricing that was closer to discount stores. In some ways, Drug Emporium is similar to the old Sav-On Drugs chain we had in Houston in the 1970s.
I enjoyed shopping at the North Oaks Drug Emporium during the 5-6 years that they were around. If you happen to be near one of the Drug Emporiums that’s still around, I suggest visiting the store because many of them still have a 1989 type of feel to them. The modern Drug Emporium stores seem to have strong user reviews with a great reputation for customer service. With that in mind, it would be great if Drug Emporium made a return to Houston, but I don’t know if that’ll ever happen.
The next retailer we’ll be taking a look at is one which is still around under a different name, Pic ‘n’ Save. Pic ‘n’ Save is better-known to modern Houston shoppers as Big Lots. Before it was Big Lots, the chain was known as MacFrugal’s. Although the name changes may imply some instability, in reality, Big Lots has been one of the most stable retailers in the Houston area as many of their locations today date back to the Pic ‘n’ Save and MacFrugal’s era. Pic ‘n’ Save came to Houston in the late 1980s, like Drug Emporium, and one of their first locations, which is still around today, was at North Oaks Mall. Unlike Drug Emporium, the Pic ‘n’ Save and MacFrugal’s, which was in an old TG&Y spot, did have a mall entrance. In fact, the MacFrugal’s signage was visible at North Oaks Mall for years after the chain became Big Lots as is seen in this Louisiana & Texas Retail Blog post about North Oaks Mall.
As someone who shopped at Pic ‘n’ Save around 1989, I can tell you that they did have legitimate bargains on some items, but there were also reasons why some of the items they sold ended up in a closeouts store. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 27)
Although Big Lots has transitioned from being a closeouts store similar to Ollie’s to a general discount store, the Pic ‘n’ Save era was most certainly when the chain was a closeouts store. Like all closeouts stores, some of the products sold are rather odd things. This has to describe Dunkin’ Donuts Cereal. Although there has been a modern attempt at Dunkin’ Cereal, the modern one uses coffee flavors. While that’s a bit odd, it’s probably less odd than the late 1980s Dunkin’ Donuts cereal which came in chocolate and glazed donut flavors! Yes, a glazed donut cereal! It goes without saying that this product did not last long. Unsold inventory of it was surely sent from supermarkets to Pic ‘n’ Save and that’s what we see featured in this ad!
Interestingly enough, the Pic ‘n’ Save name has resurfaced in recent times in California. A new Pic ‘n’ Save location in Anaheim, CA is currently operating and uses the same logo as the old Pic ‘n’ Save. Old Pic ‘n’ Save fans who don’t like what Big Lots has become might want to make a pilgrimage to California!
Of course, these two ads for North Oaks Mall retailers aren’t the only two retail ads of note in this 1989 issue of the Houston Chronicle. Other interesting ads will be described in the captions below.
By 1989, Academy was in the process of shedding their surplus store image and was taking on the image that we know of them today as a local leader in sporting goods and outdoor items. While this ad mentions the grand opening of the Stafford and League City locations, the Tomball location in the old Safeway also opened around this time. It’s interesting to see the note at the bottom about the fire at the Hedwig Village location. That fire was in January 1989. By the end of the year, the location re-opened as a new two-story Academy. While that location is closed now, perhaps some readers will remember the two-story Academy! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 13)
AutoZone had dropped their older Auto Shack name by 1989 and was well on their way to becoming a dominant chain in auto parts. Prices aside perhaps, this ad probably doesn’t look all that different from a modern AutoZone ad. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 51)
Cal Worthington’s advertising was always memorable, but their advertising also made many people think that they were a typical greasy car dealership. This ad not showing the actual prices for those new Chevrolets probably didn’t help that perception any. Also, isn’t that Cavalier in the ad actually a Beretta? (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 70)
I must say that I don’t remember the ‘Friendly Plastic’ fashion craze. I do remember in the mid-1990s when Crafts, etc. fully bought into the pog craze though. For better or for worse, Crafts, etc. was most certainly the pog headquarters. Perhaps this explains why Crafts, etc. is no longer around! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 58)
Davis Food City was not one of the larger independent grocers in Houston, but I do remember their stores quite well. We used to shop at their Old Hempstead Highway & 43rd St. location (former Kroger) quite frequently around 1989. That location, like the then-new Bissonnet & Renwick location, lives on today as an El Ahorro Supermarket. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 102)
Houston kids of the 1980s will surely remember Fame City before it became Funplex in the 1990s. Fame City, especially the big location in Alief, was the place to be for Houston kids in the 1980s. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 58)
I’d really like to have that Gulfgate Mall tote bag and pencil case! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 182)
If you think there are a lot of auto supply store chains these days, you should have seen all the options there were in 1989! Hi/Lo was one of the more popular options. Hi/Lo was purchased by O’Reilly Auto Parts and many old Hi/Lo locations are still operating as O’Reilly stores today. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 49)
The Home Depot seems like an unlikely place to buy a computer desk! It’s hard to believe The Home Depot was already a decade old in 1989 as they still felt like a very new type of store to me in 1989. Although The Home Depot is not a Texas company, they really liked to emphasize Texas in their marketing here at the time. I think they did this in all the states where they had stores. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 42)
Children of the 1980s might have bad memories of being dragged to the Sears Portrait Studio, but at least Sears would have been nicer than the Kmart Portrait Studio! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 15)
Perhaps JCPenney could bring in more potential customers into their stores here in modern times if they still had cake shows like they did in 1989! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 105)
Lewis & Coker is like Rice Markets in the sense that Lewis & Coker used to be a major Houston area grocer in the mid-20th century, but eventually they were reduced to one location in a wealthy part of town before they finally gave up on the grocery business. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 104)
Yep, Mac Haik used to sell Subarus! Who would have guessed that so many Houston Astros players were driving around in Subarus in 1989? (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 75)
I wouldn’t be interested in most of the items listed in this ad, just as I’m not too interested in most of the stuff Macy’s sells today, but at least Macy’s could draw me into their stores with that Toshiba TV and that Quasar camcorder back in the day! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 11)
I remember when Michaels seemed to have the reputation as being the go-to destination for crafts in Houston, but these days Hobby Lobby and Jo Ann are the places most people seem to go to for crafts. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 59)
Sam White was one of the most popular car dealerships back in the day. It’s interesting to note that while Oldsmobile, Isuzu, and Sterling are passenger car brands that were discontinued long ago, Nissan still makes most of the models listed in this 1989 ad! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 68)
Many Houstonians didn’t need much of an excuse to stop at a Stop N Go around 1989, but perhaps these The Who t-shirts provided even more incentive to stop in! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 132)
For the most part, Houstonians had to drive to the edge of town to enjoy Wal-Mart’s low prices in 1989. That said, the trip might have been worth it to get that deal on Trapper Keepers! (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 136)
Weiner’s was a popular destination for athletic shoes and brand name jeans in 1989. Even with that, Weiner’s proved to be the source for many schoolhouse jokes in Houston schools! This TV commercial is another example of how Weiner’s promoted their back to school sales back in this era. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 112)
Here’s an interesting ad for the Weslayan Plaza shopping center. This center, which continues to be anchored by Randall’s as it was in 1989, continues to do well in modern times. Meanwhile, many of the malls the ad is alluding to are in a troubled state in modern times. Perhaps customers were persuaded by the claims about the ice cream not melting! It’s also interesting to note once-popular retailers in the ad such as Wallpapers To Go and Front Row. (Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1989, p. 204)
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Vintage Ads! If you have any thoughts or memories about the retailers mentioned in this post, please feel free to post about it in the comments section below. We love hearing from our readers!
