Author: Mike

Editor’s Note: The photos for today’s post were kindly supplied by Mike Richardson. The Deauville Fashion Malls have long been a point of curiosity for anyone interested in retail in Houston. While many have fleeting memories of the mall’s brief existence, usually tied to Federated Electronics, even more Houstonians have memories of these giant off-price centers sitting at least partially vacant. Starting with a bit of history, the Deauville Company did not start with retail …

Pasadena Town Square, Marcoplaza, or Plaza Paseo are three names that all say the same thing: a dead mall. However, unlike every other dead mall in Houston, this one seems to have outlived expectations anyone has had for it. When I first visited the mall, it was during the Marcoplaza days, and the entire building was still open. My return to the mall would not occur until after the pandemic began. Dwindling mall traffic called …

The first of six former 99 Cents Only stores planned to become Ollie’s Bargain Outlet locations has opened in Rosenberg. The store, located at 2516 Avenue H, Rosenberg, TX 77471, is one of 11 purchased by the Pennsylvania-based outlet chain. Ollie’s had their eyes on Texas ever since the downfall of Toys ‘R Us when they were rumored to be eyeing many leases throughout the Lone Star state. Ultimately, Ollie’s took a slower approach, opting …

New York-based Shake Shack recently announced they will close two Houston locations by the end of September. The locations are the original Galleria location, which opened in 2016, and the Montrose location, which opened in 2018, replacing a long-standing Burger King location. According to reports online, Shake Shack indicated the stores were cannibalizing sales from other locations and were underperforming overall. The Montrose location no doubt has the most competition from other Shake Shack outlets, …

Work has started to at least partially demolish the former Fry’s on West Road and I-45 in preparation for Joe V’s occupying the space. HEB filed permits earlier this year indicating that a Joe V’s was headed for this site, and signs posted within the past couple of weeks confirm the new tenant will indeed be taking over the land. HEB has not announced if they plan to build an entirely new structure, but this …

Conn’s Home Plus, which recently announced its plans to liquidate its entire chain, is currently holding out-of-business sales throughout Houston. I wanted to stop by a Conn’s, as I hadn’t been into one in years, and see what I was missing. I decided to visit the 9567 S Main St, Houston, TX 77025 location as I was already in the area, and honestly, I was not super surprised by what I saw. The last time …

Last week, Mexico-based Oxxo announced its plans to enter the U.S. convenience store market by purchasing DK Gas Stations. The DK brand is most prominent in Texas, mainly in West and Northern Texas. DK is an interesting story, as it is a relatively new company. However, it will come to a quick end when Oxxo converts its stores. Owned by refiner Delek, these DK stores were, until recently, 7-Eleven’s franchisor throughout rural parts of Texas. …

Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re having a closeout on photos of the 99 Cents Only Store’s final days. The photos were all taken within the chain’s last two weeks of business and show how much was actually left, which was quite a bit for a liquidation. Rather than getting into the nitty-gritty of the chain’s downfall, I want to take a moment to wax poetic. My experiences with this …

  Health-conscious discount grocer Trader Joe’s is making great progress on the former Sugar Land Sprouts location it announced it would take over earlier this year. After Sprouts left in 2023, the location remained vacant, and fixtures were auctioned off. Sprout’s rationale for closing the store was that it was oversized for their operations, and Trader Joe’s has walled off about 2/3 of the original store for their use, with the other portion for potential …

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re visiting a former Finger Furniture showroom, which has been serving as what is likely the largest Value Village in the Houston area for a good 20 or so years now. This store at 9500 Jensen Road opened as a Finger showroom in 1962. At the time, it was out in the suburbs of Northern Houston, a rapidly growing area. While homes had already been constructed further …