Shopper’s World is in the process of finishing out the former Target space in the Steeplechase Center seen here in 2021. Houston Historic Retail first reported that New York-based Shoppers World is planning on bringing one of their discount department stores to Houston last October. While the company has yet to release any official statement on its new Houston store, its list of locations has been updated to include 10701C Jones Road, Houston, TX 77065. This Shoppers World would be the second location in Texas after their first opened in a former Bealls at South Park Mall just over a …
Keep readingYear: 2023
Fuddrucker’s Houston outlook is mostly grim
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re trying to figure out What the Fudds is going on at Houston’s remaining Fuddruckers. Things began first publically to unravel for Fuddruckers towards the end of 2017 when parent company Luby’s Inc posted one of many continuous losses in sales. To help abate this, Luby’s Inc. would begin closing locations nationwide. Throughout 2017 and 2018, a number of low-performing Luby’s and Fuddruckers locations would close, including some in Houston. However, this action would not end up being enough, and in 2019 Luby’s began to “refranchise” nearly all of the …
Keep readingThe Texas City Kroger’s Golden Anniversary
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike This month’s installment of The Year of Kroger will be an anniversary celebration. 2023 is the 140th anniversary of the formation of Kroger, but that isn’t the Kroger anniversary we will be celebrating in this post. Instead, we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Texas City Kroger located at 3541 Palmer Hwy, Texas City, TX 77590. Those who have been following HHR recently will know that Texas City retail, and Galveston County retail as a whole, has …
Keep readingRetail News: Highland Village, Houston’s first Starbucks abruptly closes
Houston’s original Starbucks location abruptly closed its doors last week. The store at 4081 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77027, has been a mainstay in the shopping center for nearly 30 years. The shutdown looks like it may not have been at Starbucks’ discretion owing to ongoing construction in the area. A ramp leading to the store’s entrance along with the front sidewalk across the entire building was demolished just after the store closed. Neighboring stores Janie & Jack and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams also had their portions of the sidewalk removed, leaving only the steps up to their doors. …
Keep readingRetail News: Almeda Mall down an anchor after Burlington moves North
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 large corner of the first floor open for future development. Houston Historic Retail first learned of the planned move thanks to permits filed nearly a …
Keep readingAnalyzing 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 that the company might be in dire straights, with a few critics going so far as to point fingers directly at Sprout’s Investment Firm ownership, …
Keep readingRetail 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 valuable than the restaurants on which they currently operate. Such is the vicious cycle that robbed Weingartens and many other local businesses from us. However, …
Keep readingA 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 station chain based out of the Midwest. Unlike the C-Stores, we’re used to in Texas, Ohio, and other Midwestern Convenience Stores tend to be a …
Keep readingKaty 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 to have direct involvement from the Onstead family. The store first opened its doors on October 10, 1998. Upon opening, the store operated 24 hours …
Keep readingRetail 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 ago. Daiso is planning to hold a grand opening event the following Saturday and Sunday (April 1 & 2). The first 100 customers to spend …
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