Author: Anonymous in Houston

A Computer City brand floppy diskette on the left and a CompUSA floppy drive driver disc on the right (From Anonymous in Houston's computer collection)

Vintage Ads: Two Metroplex Retailers, CompUSA and Computer City, Were Briefly the Most Exciting Computer Stores in Houston During the 1990s

February 7, 2024February 6, 2024 Anonymous in Houston 10 comments

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston Vintage Ads posts here at HHR are a way to visually look at retail history during a brief period of time. In my last Vintage Ads post last summer, I discussed the introduction of audio Compact Discs and CD players to Houston’s retail scene in 1983. Today’s Vintage Ads post will also be about electronics retailing, but the focus of …

The infamous postcard on the wall where stores never opened at the Mall of the Mainland. Nikki's address and hometown is completely made up, but it is interesting to note that 77060 is Greenspoint Mall's Zip code. Perhaps at the time this post card was painted, the Mall of the Mainland did have more worthwhile shopping and entertainment options than Greenspoint Mall. That's not saying much though. I will say that shopping at the Mall of the Mainland was a vacation if you wanted to spend time in a public space and didn't want to see anyone else! It was paradise for those who wanted peace and quiet. (From the Anonymous in Houston retail photo collection)

A Look Back at Houston Retail in January 2014 with Anonymous in Houston’s Photo Collection

January 10, 2024January 6, 2024 Anonymous in Houston 6 comments

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston Happy new year, Houston Historic Retail readers! Today’s topic is a bit of a random retail post. Those of you familiar with my guest blog posts here at HHR know that while I enjoy discussing retail history, I am not much of a retail photographer. The wonderful retail photographers out there deserve a lot of credit for their skill in …

There is no better way to close this series than with some nighttime Art Deco!

The Year of Kroger Closes with a Silver Anniversary Celebration of the River Oaks Art Deco Kroger

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023 Anonymous in Houston 6 comments

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike It is quite hard to believe that the end of the year 2023 is near! This means, of course, that The Year of Kroger series here at Houston Historic Retail is concluding with this post. I’ll reflect on The Year of Kroger series at the end of this post, but first we’ll discuss the …

Two Westside Kroger Stores With Unique Safeway and AppleTree Designs

November 1, 2023December 2, 2023 Anonymous in Houston 11 comments

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 The Year of Kroger post will be a bit unique for a couple of reasons. For one, this post will be about two different, but similar Houston-area Krogers. Also, a unique aspect of this post is that we will be looking at stores which both started out as Safeway stores, then became …

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

October 11, 2023December 2, 2023 Anonymous in Houston 10 comments

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 …

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

October 4, 2023December 2, 2023 Anonymous in Houston 12 comments

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 …

Here is a closer look at the Kroger logo in the vestibule. It may or may not be obvious from this sign, but the natural wood looking sign is a ‘sign’ that this store is carrying a décor package which contains elements initially designed for an organic grocery concept.

Pearland’s Kroger Has an Unexpected History of Innovation

September 6, 2023December 2, 2023 Anonymous in Houston 8 comments

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike Now that we’re well into The Year of Kroger series here at Houston Historic Retail, there are two categories which describe most of the stores we’ve featured so far in The Year of Kroger. One category of stores are those which had new or rare features such as the Kroger Signature stores we featured …

As far as Houston Albertsons stores go, this location had a slightly more unique front façade than most. This might help hide the Albertsons origins of this store at first glance, but many of the classic Albertsons features such as the glass bricks and the cart alleyway exist here to give away the origins of this building.

Randalbertsons: It’s Your Boomerang Albertsons Store Because The Locals Rejected Food Lion

August 9, 2023August 8, 2023 Anonymous in Houston 6 comments

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike It has been 21 years since Albertsons left Houston in 2002, but longtime Houston Historic Retail readers know that Albertsons’ legacy is still strongly felt at various retailers around town. Perhaps this is most strongly felt at various Food Town stores where, as Albertsons Florida Blog has pointed out, ‘It’s Your Town’ looks a …

It is a busy day at the Galveston Randalls!

Randalls’ Very Successful 1980s Store Format Is Still A Success In Galveston

July 19, 2023July 14, 2023 Anonymous in Houston No comments

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike Loyal readers of Houston Historic Retail might remember the Galveston Randall’s being mentioned in July’s The Year of Kroger post about the Galveston Kroger. This HHR post is an extension of that post as we’ll be taking a closer look at the Galveston Randall’s, Randall’s Food Market #31 (Randalls Food & Drug #1031 using …

The Galveston Kroger sits right along the beach. It is easy to see why beach tourists head to the Kroger.

Krogering is a Vacation in Galveston

July 5, 2023December 2, 2023 Anonymous in Houston 9 comments

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 summer vacation edition of The Year of Kroger! There is no better place in the Houston area to make a vacation-themed post to start the second half of The Year of Kroger series than on Galveston Island. With that in mind, grab some sunscreen because we will be touring the Kroger …