Burlington has moved out of Alemda Mall, creating a major anchor vacancy at the regional mall for the first time in nearly 15 years. The space which Burlington occupied at the mall was originally a JC Penney until the chain closed the location in 2006. The anchor spot remained vacant until 2009 when Burlington (at the time) Coat Factory moved in. Burlington never utilized the entire JCP space, leaving the second floor untouched and a …
Read moreMonth: March 2023
Analyzing Houston’s Three Closing Sprouts
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. A sprout is defined in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary as “to grow, spring up, or come forth.” Unfortunately for some Houstonians, three of our Sprouts locations are withering away. The cuts in Houston are part of a larger restructuring by Sprout’s Farmers Market, which recently announced plans to close 11 stores in the coming months. Some folks have heard this news and taken it to mean …
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Retail News: Bun B’s Trill Burgers start work on former James Coney Island
Work on transforming the former James Coney Island at Richmond and S. Shepherd into Trill Burgers has begun. JCI closed this location for good in July 2022 after years of sluggish sales. JCI Grill, as they’re now known, has sold off most of its property in the past five years, closing many locations for Cabo Bob’s, leaving some to sit vacantly and others demolished. Overall, JCI has openly admitted that their property is much more …
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A quick check-in on the Speedway Cafe in Texas City
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’ve got a quick post based on a user request (yes, you can make those!) We first checked out this Speedway station just about a year ago, and it was a surprising discovery for anyone familiar with the Speedway Chain. Since I’ve gained an increased following in the last year, let me quickly recap why this gas station is so unusual. Speedway is a gas …
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Katy Supermarket how many tries does it take to get an old Randalls running again?
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a look at a former Randalls in Katy, now known as Katy Supermarket. Since closing in early 2017, this former Randalls has held four three different grocery concepts, with none really seeming to take off. Before we talk about what’s there now, let’s start off with some history. The Katy Randalls was one of the last locations to open and likely the last …
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Retail News: Daiso will open fifth Houston store next week
Daiso will open its fifth Houston area store next week on March 29th. The Japanese Yen Shop is a rough equivalent of an American Dollar Store. Generally, the quality of Daiso items is higher than expected at Dollar Tree or Family Dollar. That being said, the prices reflect this, ranging from $1.75 to just over $15. This location is Daiso’s 92nd in the United States, after only arriving in the country just over 15 years …
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GFS has opened, so what’s shopping at one like?
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re checking out the shopping experience of a Gordon Food Service Store. HHR initially broke the news that GFS was planning to enter the Houston market almost one year ago. We’ve been following the development since then, finally getting official word from the company itself on their opening dates (speaking of which, if you’re a business that would like to have your story covered, reach …
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Safeway’s 1980 Annual Report: Growth in Texas, New concepts elsewhere
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a break from the norm and checking out some new photos. I was recently tipped off by a reader of an opportunity to purchase some old Safeway Annual Reports. While the reports are available online, the photos I have uploaded provide far greater detail. A few of today’s photos will come from a Texas location, 1820 N Loy Lake Rd, Sherman, TX 75090, …
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Retail News: Gordon Food Service Stores Open Tomorrow
Tuesday, March 14th, will mark the first new entry of a national grocer into Houston in over ten years. The announcement from GFS confirms some of what HHR had already reported, specifically that six new Gordon Food Service Stores will open in the Houston area. The stores will open in two waves, with the North Oaks, Westheimer, Katy, and League City stores opening tomorrow. Both Antoine at Pinemont and the Braeswood Square store will open …
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A History of AMC Theaters in Houston: Part 2
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is Part Two of a two-part guest submission from HHR’s local A/V geek, Jason McMillon The 1990s, The Digital Sound and Megaplex Era In today’s post, we’re picking up where we left off in Part 1, the 1990s. No other decade saw such a rapid expansion in the cinema industry than the 90s. With a demand for bigger screens, more spacious stadium seating, more showtimes, more movie choices, and top-of-the-line digital …
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