Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re checking out the shopping experience of a Gordon Food Service Store. HHR initially broke the news that GFS was planning to enter the Houston market almost one year ago. We’ve been following the development since then, finally getting official word from the company itself on their opening dates (speaking of which, if you’re a business that would like to have your story covered, reach …
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My name is Mike and I am the founder of the Houston Historic Retail! I have been running this site since 2015. For more information check out the About page!
Safeway’s 1980 Annual Report: Growth in Texas, New concepts elsewhere
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a break from the norm and checking out some new photos. I was recently tipped off by a reader of an opportunity to purchase some old Safeway Annual Reports. While the reports are available online, the photos I have uploaded provide far greater detail. A few of today’s photos will come from a Texas location, 1820 N Loy Lake Rd, Sherman, TX 75090, …
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Retail News: Gordon Food Service Stores Open Tomorrow
Tuesday, March 14th, will mark the first new entry of a national grocer into Houston in over ten years. The announcement from GFS confirms some of what HHR had already reported, specifically that six new Gordon Food Service Stores will open in the Houston area. The stores will open in two waves, with the North Oaks, Westheimer, Katy, and League City stores opening tomorrow. Both Antoine at Pinemont and the Braeswood Square store will open …
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Retail News: Houston to lose multiple Sprouts locations as part of larger cuts
Sprouts Farmers Market has announced plans to close 11 stores in the coming month in multiple states. Thanks to a tip submitted by an anonymous source to Houston Historic Retail, our market can expect to lose three locations by the start of April. Sprout’s official reasoning behind the cuts is under performance, with a focus on closing larger stores in favor of smaller locations. The three locations supposedly on the chopping block include Westheimer at …
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Fiesta #18 The Last of the Neon Kings
Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a look at the last of the neon Fiestas at 8130 Kirby Dr, Houston, TX 77054. This Fiesta Mart location opened in the 1980s, during a high of our local international store. First, let’s start with a quick history of Fiesta. The concept behind Fiesta Mart was developed by a group of American-businessmen who had experienced shopping at modern Latin American supermarkets and realized …
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Tuesday Morning closures include a significant Houston store
Tuesday Morning has recently announced a bankruptcy which of course includes a store closing that has multiple Houston area locations on the list. Today we’re looking at 5442 Weslayan, which has an interesting lineage beyond being Houston’s oldest operating Tuesday Morning. This Tuesday Morning originally opened in 1989, a bit late compared to the first Houston area locations, which opened in 1975, only a year after the chain was established in Dallas. Tuesday Morning’s earliest …
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Harvest Market Sienna another look at Houston’s own Grocerant
Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR! Today we’re taking a quick look at Houston’s own “Grocerant”, Harvest Market. The Sienna location is actually the second Harvest Market we’re taking a look at. For those who didn’t check out the original article, and are wondering what a Grocerant is, essentially, it’s a combination Food Court and Grocery Store. Something that Kroger toyed with in Houston and other places back in the early 90s but never …
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Walmart’s latest round of closures hits Katy
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. I’m here with unfortunate news for residents in the middle of Katy, as the Walmart Neighborhood Market at Westheimer Parkway and Falcons Landing Drive is preparing to close. The news was first leaked on Nextdoor and later confirmed by the store manager to Covering Katy. Walmart regularly eliminates underperforming stores and is closing seven other locations for this year. While Walmart’s claim of underperformance is substantiated by the …
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Big Chief lives on as Arlan’s in Santa Fe!
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re heading back down Highway 6 to the small town of Santa Fe. You may remember our last stop focused on a former Minimax that HEB had purchased and continues to run essentially as a Pantry Foods store, lacking service departments. This Arlan’s nee Big Chief we’re looking at today is actually a larger store than HEB, and more importantly, features service departments (deli, bakery, …
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Faith in Ollie’s Bargain Outlet restored!
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re visiting the Ollie’s in the former Babie’s ‘R Us at across from Baybrook Mall. The last time we saw the inside of this store, it was the short-lived Dick’s Warehouse Sale. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has since remodeled the building, removing most remaining traces of BRU, except for the flooring. They have also embiggened the floor space, adding room for mattresses and box springs. This …
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