Return to Food King, one of the last Weingarten’s out there

Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! If you’re a longtime reader of the blog, then you might recognize today’s location, Food King! A former Weingarten, still using much of their Grand Union decor update. This store is a gem, locally owned by a Texas City resident, and honestly pretty dang cheap! If you’re interested in the history of this store and more detailed information on decor overlap, then check out my post from earlier this year on the store. Today’s post is going to try and feature some things I missed the first time around. My first visit was quite rushed, and I knew I wanted to come back, as there were areas I had missed. I also tried to do a better job capturing some of the items I had taken photos of the first time around. One of the things I missed was the public restroom on the second floor of the store. The entire bathroom, down to the automatic door closer, all appear to be straight out of the 50s, including a bit of the original terrazzo floor. Another thing I missed was the Grand Union Dairy Sign, although, to my credit, it’s almost completely blocked by merchandise above the dairy cases (a well-known issue dating back to the Weingarten days!). Well, go ahead and take a look at this former Weingarten!

Food King is a great store. It’s the only true grocery store serving this portion of Texas City and is appreciated by the community. Part of the company’s allure is that its prices are quite competitive with bigger stores. While there are no “knock-out” deals to take down a Walmart or HEB, the prices were closer than you’d expect. Beyond the low prices, the store’s staff is also extremely pleasant. Speaking with both a manager and cashier, I was floored by how nice they both were and extremely personable. According to my conversations, the store plans to stick around for years to come. However, they did seem less confident about this old Weingarten appearance sticking around. Honestly, this is one of the few stores I’d recommend you make the trip for. Food King is unique, and I believe we oughtta appreciate it while we have it!

3 comments

  1. I’m glad you were able to visit this Food King again because as awesome as the first set of photos were from this place, the second set has added even more interesting finds from this store’s Weingarten/Grand Union Weingarten past. What is great is that not only does this store look historic, but it seems to be a well-liked neighborhood grocer that has managed to survive even with HEB, Aldi, and Kroger in town (the Texas City Kroger itself is a bit historic). Hopefully this great little supermarket will continue to serve their customers for years to come.

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