Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, I have some sad news. An “Upper Kirby” landmark, the Antique Pavilion, and surrounding businesses will soon be demolished as part of a redevelopment of the block. Before we talk about the building’s future, let’s first discuss its past. The current structure at 2311 Westheimer was initially built by Randall’s in 1965. This location was not built by the Randall’s you’re probably thinking about, but rather the original Randall’s founded in 1946 by A.P. Randall. At that time, the chain was purchased by Blocker Martin, who expanded the single store …
Keep readingMonth: January 2023
A tour of Weingarten’s in 1969 at Rummel Creek
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re setting the time machine to 1968 to take a look at the brand-new Rummel Creek Weingarten’s. A store we’ve seen before on HHR, but never in its original form. Before we go any further, I need to shout out Pleasant Family Shopping, who was able to hook me up with these photos and a few others already on HHR. If you haven’t already followed him on Facebook, be sure to! All of the following text and images are from the 1968 J. Weingarten Inc. Annual Report: Climbing on the bandwagon …
Keep readingWalgreens carved a tiny store out of this old Eckerd
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re checking out an old Eckerd that is now hosting a tiny Walgreens along with a few other tenants. The history of 12620 FM 1960 is a bit odd. The corner originally hosted John Eagle Honda, opting to move closer to the highway, leaving this corner for redevelopment. Despite hosting two drug stores, the building has spent most of its life vacant. As an Eckerd drug store, the location was only open for a few weeks. The store’s grand opening took place in early 2004 and would quickly be overshadowed …
Keep readingGordon Food Stores Houston arrival is imminent
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re pausing from the norm to discuss a hot topic, the arrival of GFS or Gordon Food Stores in Houston. GFS is a food service store open to the public. Although GFS is a specialty chain, it does mark the arrival of the first new national grocery chain in Houston The Fresh Market failed to plant itself ten years ago. The move into Houston represents a new territory for GFS, whose primary focus has been the Midwest and Florida. GFS has selected six sites in the Houston area to make …
Keep readingA closed remnant of Gerland’s you’ve never heard of, Ziegler’s Foods
Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re doing something we haven’t done in a while and looking at an abandoned retailer, a former grocery store Ziegler’s Foods, located at 2308 FM 517 Rd E, Dickinson, TX 77539. The empty store has a fascinating backstory and unclear future, so let’s jump right in. The building now used by Ziegler’s came into use, likely sometime around the 1950s, initially as Klecka’s Food Market. The Klecka family hailed from Czechoslovakia and, in the 1940s, opened a Department Store in Dickinson, followed shortly after by a second location in East Bernard. …
Keep readingBed Bath & Bankruptcy 2019 vs 2023
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a look at the Bed Bath & Beyond at 10515 Katy Fwy. Specifically, we’ll compare photos of the store between 2019 and 2023. To give some background, the 2019 photos were from a planned post which was never completed, and focused on one portion of the store. My desire to return to BB&B was spurred by their recent warnings of the pending bankruptcy. However, before we talk about the present, let’s start off with the past. Bed Bath & Beyond was initially founded as Bed & Bath, a …
Keep readingRetail News: Ben Bridge Jewelers rumored to leave Houston
Demolition Watch: McDonald’s on Main Street, could we be getting an automated location?
Howdy, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re covering a topic that has had social media in a frenzy. The infamous Main Street McDonald’s is coming down. If you’ve never humbled yourself with a visit to the lowliest burger joint this side of the Pecos, well, you may be out of luck! For those unaware, the McDonald’s at 2017 Main Street has quite a reputation. Situated just between the Greyhound Bus Station and the Pierce Elevated section of I-45, this McDonald’s has seen it all. From robberies to homicides, from poor service to “traveling salesmen,” this store has …
Keep readingA Warm Greenhouse Welcome to the Year of Kroger here at HHR!
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike Happy New Year and welcome to 2023, Houston Historic Retail readers! We have many interesting things planned for this year. One of our goals for the year is to cover some of the most interesting Kroger stores in the Houston area. With that in mind, we plan on posting one Kroger post a month in 2023 in order show Kroger’s significant influence in Houston’s retail history. Today’s Year of Kroger post takes us to a surviving Houston Greenhouse Kroger …
Keep readingRetail News: Foodarama adds new location with Texas City Food King on their roster
Local grocery chain Foodarama opened a new location last week at 915 North 6th St in Texas City. The store was purchased directly from the previous operator Food King and was not closed for the changeover. This newest Foodarama represents the first new location of an independent Houston grocery chain since 2015, when Pyburn’s opened its third location. As of this article, Foodarama has eight locations throughout the Houston area. Other independent grocery chains in the Houston area include Sellers Bros, with 11 locations, and Food Town, with 32 stores. Before 2015 half of the Food Town chain was owned …
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