Year: 2023

Has Farm Stores “bought the farm” in Houston?

Over the last three years, HHR has been keeping an eye on a Florida-based “C-Store adjacent” concept, Farm Stores, which first announced its intent to come to Houston in 2016. While their first planned Katy location would not work out, they would eventually arrive in 2020. Farm Stores isn’t exactly a new idea, with the concept debuting in the late 50s. It’s somewhat reminiscent of a drive-thru liquor store but swaps hard alcohol for an …

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The future of the vacant Wilcrest Foodarama

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re taking what will likely be our final visit to the Wilcrest ex-Foodarama. As is customary, this is a post-closure post taking a look at the remains of the former store. Towards the end of the article, we’ll even discuss what’s upcoming for the corner lot. As mentioned in our first post, this building started in the 1970s as a Safeway. It was a unique pickup for …

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Office Depot tries to make it clear that when you shop at OfficeMax, you’re really shopping at an Office Depot.

With the Hedwig Village OfficeMax Closing Soon, We Remember OfficeMax’s Glory Days In Houston

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike Sometimes retail blog posts just don’t go as planned. This is the case with this post. Only a few weeks ago, Mike and I discussed the possibility of us doing a blog post about OfficeMax and Staples’ small presence in the Houston area in current times. Both names are so rare in Houston these …

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Retail News: Whole Foods to close Midtown location

Houston Historic Retail has been informed that the Midtown Whole Foods Market will close by the end of next week. The store, which opened in late 2019, occupies the ground floor of the Pearl Marketplace Apartment tower. The rumor of closure was first spread online and brought to the attention of HHR by a reader. The closing was confirmed by visiting the store and speaking to an employee who confirmed they would close by the …

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Solving a 40 year old Rosenberg retail mystery on the north side, Burger House

I was interested in retail from an early age. While I didn’t start documenting it until recently, I witnessed a unique slice of Houston retail. My formative years in Richmond-Rosenberg provided a strange parallel to the nearby Houston market. Living in what was still “the country” at the time, old names that had mostly disappeared from Houston years earlier remained in the area. For example, Sutherland’s stayed in Rosenberg until 2002. Right across the street, …

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Here’s how the store looks at night. The black signs turn white when they are lit. It is interesting to see curtains on some of the mezzanine windows! It makes the mezzanine look like a fancy hotel!

Kroger Goes Upscale With The KTRKroger in West U

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike, who has recently published a new page covering the history of Henke & Pillot. In Houston at least, Kroger has long had a reputation as being a ‘middle of the road’ type of grocer. This has helped Kroger in many ways as the combination of good prices and a traditional supermarket experience appeals to …

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The local skinny on Boston Market’s downfall

Bad news for Boston Market lovers: the fast-casual rotisserie chicken chain is approaching its demise. This isn’t too shocking for anyone who follows restaurant news. Boston Market has had a difficult history. They first arrived in Houston in 1994, with concrete plans for 17 locations and eventual eyes for 50 total stores throughout Houston at some point. At that time, they were known as Boston Chicken and undergoing a growth spurt, which would land them …

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On the outside, all looks normal, once we get inside, we'll see little has changed.

Checking out the ‘newest’ Krogertsons in town the concept Hispanic Kroger

Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today, we’re checking out Houston’s “hottest Kroger.” The store at Sabo and the South Belt which was recently renovated as a Hispanic Concept Kroger. Houstonians are no strangers to Hispanic grocery stores, and in fact, some of us may even remember Kroger’s previous attempt at a Hispanic store in Gulfton. Starting off with a bit of history on this store, it was initially a Grocery Palace-era …

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The Houston Air Boingo Tower Source: Houston Post October 14, 1992

Why Bungee Jumping is Illegal in Houston

Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today, we’re discussing a fringe bit of retail—stand-alone amusement attractions. While researching Houston’s Amusement Centers, I have discussed Funplex, Fame City, and others in passing on Facebook and in HHR comments. While I have never directly addressed the topic on the blog, I am interested in amusement parks. Living in Houston my entire life, they’re something I almost completely associate with being an out-of-town-only experience, with …

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A mock-up of the planned South Lake IKEA small format store. Photo Source: IKEA Newsroom

Retail News: IKEA planning new small-format location for Cinco Ranch

Based on permits filed with the state, and realty details mentioned in Ralph Bivin’s latest RNR Bulletin, Swedish Furniture Retailer, IKEA is working on opening a second location in the Houston area. The new store is to be located in the La Centerra Shopping Center in Katy. Rather than being a full-size showroom and warehouse 200k+ Sqft store, this new location will only clock in at about 5,000 Sqft. While IKEA has yet to publish …

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