Year: 2024

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re tackling one of my favorite topics, Harvest Market. Unless you’re in a few key markets in Houston, you’ve likely never heard of Harvest Market, and in my opinion, that’s a shame. I first visited a couple of their locations at the end of 2022 and have been itching to return. The homegrown concept, sometimes called a “grocerant,” opened its first location in the summer of 2015; …

In a long, strange tale, one of the largest surviving pieces of Sears’ former operations will finally be exiting Houston, albeit under a different name, American Freight. The story begins with Sears Outlet, which arrived in Houston in 1975 and was initially named “Sears Surplus.” These stores were exactly as the name portrays an Outlet branch of the successful Sears chain. The stores leaned more heavily into the “catalog side” of things than the variety …

Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re taking a look at a farce, a fraud, a mediocre photographic fakery, if you will. So what are we looking at? A “grand re-opening” of the Kroger at 1035 N Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77008. To start, this has always been a significant store for Kroger. Starting with a bit of history, this store initially opened as a Henke & Pillot location all the way back …

Construction permits filed with the state at the end of last week indicate that Houston-based Trill Burger may be expanding into more suburban digs. Co-founded by local rapper Bun B and restauranter Andy Nguyen, Trill Bruger initially debuted as a pop-up selling smash burgers in the summer of 2021. In the summer of 2023, the concept transitioned to a more permanent home in a former James Coney Island. However, from day one of operation there, …

TGI Fridays quietly closed its remaining two Houston locations last week without any fanfare. The closures were not unexpected, and HHR postulated that they would eventually occur at the start of this year when TGI Fridays cut its operations from four stores to only two in Houston. The chain, which first entered Houston in 1973, at one point held the majority of the “fern bar” segment, but a lack of updates over the years left …

Happy Halloween, ghouls and goblins! Today, we’re making a return to the longest-standing tradition at HHR. Visiting some “costume conversions.” These are empty storefronts temporarily leased by seasonal stores and “dressed up” for Halloween. In the past, we’ve visited Spirit locations, Halloween City (part of Party City), and even a local retailer, Spookers. This year, however, we only have the big dog Spirit operating in Houston. Without further to do, let us start with… The …

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re looking at 9805 Farm to Market 1960 Bypass Rd W, Humble, TX 77338, a location with a storied history. To start with a bit of context, this store sits inside the Deerbrook development, which is a part of Humble, TX. While Humble had an early history as an oil boomtown, also being the namesake for Humble Oil, now known as Exxon, its status as a growth …

For the past few months, many have waited with bated breath for Sugar Land to finally have its own Trader Joe’s, and come Thursday, October 24th, it will be a reality. The Aldi-owned natural foods store has been planning the location at Univeristy Blvd and Highway 59, in a former Sprouts, for the better part of a year, and after pushing back the date, the store seems ready to open. Trader Joe’s began applying for …

Salvage merchandiser Dirt Cheap prepares to bite the dust while closing down operations. Channel Control Merchants, the parent company of Dirt Cheap, and sister companies Dirt Cheap Building Supplies and Treasure Hunt filed for bankruptcy on October 10th. They announced their plans to close all remaining locations by the end of the year as part of their proceedings. Dirt Cheap, which is mainly focused in the Southern United States, has been featured twice before on …

The Big Lots bankruptcy continues to add new locations to the closing list, and in the past two weeks, two Houston stores have joined the lineup. The first is 6138 Hwy 6 N, Houston, TX 77084, and the second is at 425 Sawdust Rd Ste A, Spring, TX 77380. With these two new closures, the greater Houston area is now losing 10 Big Lots stores overall, with a possibility of more closings still looming on …