Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Since just before the break up of Luby’s, I’ve been following the slow decline of Fuddruckers. Things have not been going great for the chain, as covered in the last couple of updates. Photos from recent trips to company-owned stores paint a picture that food quality has somewhat recovered. The “skinny fries” temporarily served at some locations have been replaced with steak fry-style potatoes, reminiscent of what Luby’s used to have. The burger patty also looks to be of much better quality than the overdone “school burger” I had on my last visit. That being said, some issues are still to be solved, such as the lack of fountain drinks (with only cans being offered), and the cheese sauce not being up to par. As part of the ongoing rehabilitation effort two Houston-area Fuddrucker locations have been temporarily closed for repairs.
The first unit to close was the Greenway Plaza store, which closed about two weeks ago, and was also the home to the Fudd’s Delivery van and Catering Truck. Issues at the location with the air conditioner caused water to drip from the ceiling throughout the dining room constantly. My last visit to this location was underscored by the dripping water hitting my head while taking a relatively disappointing bite of my burger. The 290 location, on the other hand, cites “water repair” as their reason for closure. Both stores feature identical signs stating that the locations are temporarily closed for repairs and maintenance. Speaking with an HHR reader and occasional contributor (thanks, Jason!) I could pinpoint that the 290 location closed about a week after Greenway Plaza. Visiting the location, I found that the vans had been moved here and that the glass of the main entrance had been broken since then. It is unclear what exactly is next for these two locations. They still appear as open on Google Maps, and Temporarily Closed on Fuddrucker’s website.
It is difficult to say what exactly will happen next for these two locations. Other out-of-state stores listed as temporarily closed failed to reopen and have since permanently closed; hopefully, though, this situation will be avoided in Houston. In the meantime, six other Fuddruckers continue to operate in Houston under a mix of corporate and franchised locations.
Another closure to report? I’ve been through 4 painful closures so far and I think I just witnessed a 5th today. First, there was the Meyer Park location (SW corner of 610); this was actually in my neighborhood and the closest to me. Then the Pearland location closed, maybe during Covid. Next was the MacGregor location and finally the Greenway Plaza location – this was probably my favorite. All four were convenient to me. I tried to go to the Stafford location today only to find the de rigueur “Closed for Maintenance” signed on the door, next to a notice of lockout from the landlord (non-payment of February and March rent; $40K+ owed) and a For Lease sign along the I69 frontage road. I wish the corporation was being more transparent as they are killing whatever goodwill is left in the 40+ year-old brand. What I’m missing (I’ll miss) most are the flaky onion-rings (NOT the frozen breaded ones they served during Covid) and the cheese sauce.
Now the Town & Country is my closest location; I hope they can hold on, although I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to go. Before Covid, I went the first Saturday of every month plus 1-2x, for 2-3x minimum each month.
*I’m not counting the closure of what I believe was the original Houston location on Richmond between Chimney Rock and Hillcroft.
The temporarily closed sign is gone. It’s been closed for several months now. Is it safe to say it’s closed forever?
It’s certainly looking that way, the SW Freeway one still said temporarily last time I looked, but the property was also up for sale.
Yep, leasing broker sign on Westpark side
Yes greenway is up for lease, Mac Gregor is closed….
Oh no dude. I don’t trust that sign in front of a Fuddruckers door. That’s how I lost Fuqua Fudds. I miss it everyday.