The Randalls at 5161 San Felipe St, Houston, TX 77056 has recently begun its going-out-of-business sale. According to reader reports, the store is still decently stocked, and Albertsons has pulled in their “normal” mixed bins of general merchandise to begin the sale. The location originally opened in 1996 and was the first construction on the site. The corner at Sage and San Felipe was one of the last vacant corners in the Galleria/Uptown area. It had originally been reserved for a second Sage Plaza office building, but this was never built, and retail was selected instead. When the Randalls originally opened, the location was one of the few grocery stores in the area, with the diminutive Rice Epicurean at Post Oak as the only direct competitor. While this location was not lacking in high-end options (specifically, the first Starbucks inside a Randalls), the shopping center did provide some of the only traditional retail in the area, which had mostly been pushed out by luxury redevelopments. Randalls ruled the roost, outlasting Rice Epicurean, but new competition like the HEB on San Felipe has slowly chipped away at Randalls’ customer base. Ultimately, Albertsons has been mum on the exact details of this closure, but it’s not unlikely that, at this point, there are serious considerations about the future of Randalls in the Houston area. This closing also presents the question of what will replace Randalls. At the moment, the property is up for lease. As of now, the closing date is still planned for April 18.
The end of era. We are all pretty sad to see the staff leave this location.