Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re looking at a “Baby Beaver Buc-ee’s.” The Buc-ee’s Taxonomy splits the classification of stores by size and actually doesn’t originate on HHR. Most people who know Buc-ee’s know them for their massive travel center stores, which have gone nationwide in the past few years. However, this isn’t how Buc-ee’s got their start. Readers closer to the Gulf Coast, may remember the earliest incarnations of Buc-ee’s …
Read moreYear: 2023
Why Fuddruckers days may be numbered
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re taking time for a sad topic: the slow and agonizing death of Fuddruckers. The downfall of Fudds is not new content here on HHR. My first hint that something was seriously wrong at the chain goes all the way back to 2018 and the failure of the chain to re-franchise a popular West Houston location before shutting it down. My naivety of the conditions …
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Retail News: Target proposed for Heights area residential tower
A block in the Heights at W. 26th between Durham and N. Shepherd is currently undergoing the planning stages of redevelopment. At the end of 2022, WGS Retail Investments announced plans to redevelop the existing business on this land. Their plan involves demolishing the industrial sheds and former homes that had all turned to retail use by the 21st century. The plan as it stands now is to construct a low-rise 8-story residential tower, with …
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Slim Pickens at this former Carl’s Jr.
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a look at a Carl’s Jr. turned Slim Chickens and discussing some shared problems. Starting off with some history, the restaurant building currently standing at 9599 S Main St, Houston, TX 77025, was constructed in 2015, replacing an older structure on the same site. The building was initially constructed as Tinsley’s Chicken ‘n Rolls in 1983. In 1985 Church’s Chicken purchased Tinsley’s, and …
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4000 Polk, Houston’s 90+ year old Henke & Pillot Kroger location
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike Welcome to the latest installment of The Year of Kroger here at Houston Historic Retail! After three consecutive months of looking at early examples of Kroger Signature stores, this month’s The Year of Kroger post will take us to a Kroger that is the opposite of a Signature store. Those who have read the …
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Retail News: Trill Burgers work shows on former James Coney Island
The former James Coney Island, located at 3607 S Sheperd Dr. Houston, TX 77098, has been slated to reopen as local rapper Bun B’s Smash Burger concept Trill Burger since closing last year. Work started on the interior earlier this year, as reported here on HHR. However, this last week the first stages of exterior change began. A new black and gold paint job, in addition to updated signage, has all been applied. Photos from …
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Whatever happened to Sweet Tomatoes?
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today we’re checking in on an untouched Sweet Tomatoes at 8775 Katy Fwy, Houston, TX 77024, to answer the question of whatever happened to all the Sweet Tomatoes locations in Houston. For those not in the know, Sweet Tomatoes was a popular all-you-can-eat soup and salad buffet. It worked quite similarly to Souper Salad but did not feature tacos or nachos as a part of the hot bar. …
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Why is Pearland’s newest HEB already getting a remodel?
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today we’re checking out something we haven’t seen in a while, a grocery store expansion. Specifically, the remodel going on at the East Pearland HEB at 2710 Pearland Pkwy, Pearland, TX 77581. Before we answer the question as to why this HEB is getting an expansion, let’s dig into why this has become somewhat unusual. For years, HEB’s focus in Houston was on Pantry Foods stores, which on …
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Retail News: Stafford gains a Target location, and P Terry’s makes Houston promises… again
Target has filed permits for a new store in the Stafford mixed-use development, The Grid. Likely to be located next to the present Costco Business Center, the new store will come in around 125,000 Square Feet. This will be an average-size store for Target, about 20k Sq ft less than their new Katy store. For comparison, the Walmart across West Airport Blvd from The Grid is almost 100,000 Square Feet larger, representing one of the …
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Why Gorman’s Cleaners is sitting abandoned in Hedwig Village
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a look at a Katy Freeway icon while we still have the chance. Gorman’s Cleaners exists essentially frozen in time and has been so since opening nearly 70 years ago. Back in the 1930s, when I-10 was little more than a distant dream, the road that Gorman’s sits on, referred to then as Katy Road (Modern U.S. 90), was a small country road …
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