Grand opening sales and festivities at Foodarama’s newest location at 915 6th St N, Texas City, TX 77590, will commence this week. Foodarama, which is turning 50 this year, took over this location in late December 2022 from the previous operator Food King. Personnel from Foodarama disclosed to Houston Historic Retail that they had planned on removing some of the remaining Grand Union-era decor features, such as the overhead mural above the checkout, but had …
Read moreAuthor: Mike
Houston’s rogue Denny’s the tale of Steve’s Kitchen
Houston is a big city; this is an observation that makes an impact on nearly any visitor who spends time here. Not only is Houston tangentially long, East to West and North to South, but each sector of our city is also composed of varying densities. We travel so much in this city that it’s easy to become blind to anything but drastic changes if you’re not looking for them. Today’s story is something I …
Read moreOllie’s Katy Excursion, how Houston’s third Bargain Outlet makes out
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today we’re completing a trilogy by checking out the third and currently final Ollie’s location to open in the Houston area. All this “Ollie’s Fever” started nearly two years ago, when HHR broke the news that Ollie’s was coming to the former Steeplechase Target on Jones Road. When that Ollie’s finally opened in September of the same year, I visited and was quite underwhelmed. Having visited Ollie’s first …
Read moreRetail News: Shoppers World confirmed as coming to Houston
Shopper’s World is in the process of finishing out the former Target space in the Steeplechase Center seen here in 2021. Houston Historic Retail first reported that New York-based Shoppers World is planning on bringing one of their discount department stores to Houston last October. While the company has yet to release any official statement on its new Houston store, its list of locations has been updated to include 10701C Jones Road, Houston, TX 77065. …
Read moreFuddrucker’s Houston outlook is mostly grim
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re trying to figure out What the Fudds is going on at Houston’s remaining Fuddruckers. Things began first publically to unravel for Fuddruckers towards the end of 2017 when parent company Luby’s Inc posted one of many continuous losses in sales. To help abate this, Luby’s Inc. would begin closing locations nationwide. Throughout 2017 and 2018, a number of low-performing Luby’s and Fuddruckers locations would …
Read moreRetail News: Highland Village, Houston’s first Starbucks abruptly closes
Houston’s original Starbucks location abruptly closed its doors last week. The store at 4081 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77027, has been a mainstay in the shopping center for nearly 30 years. The shutdown looks like it may not have been at Starbucks’ discretion owing to ongoing construction in the area. A ramp leading to the store’s entrance along with the front sidewalk across the entire building was demolished just after the store closed. Neighboring stores …
Read moreRetail News: Almeda Mall down an anchor after Burlington moves North
Burlington has moved out of Alemda Mall, creating a major anchor vacancy at the regional mall for the first time in nearly 15 years. The space which Burlington occupied at the mall was originally a JC Penney until the chain closed the location in 2006. The anchor spot remained vacant until 2009 when Burlington (at the time) Coat Factory moved in. Burlington never utilized the entire JCP space, leaving the second floor untouched and a …
Read moreAnalyzing Houston’s Three Closing Sprouts
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. A sprout is defined in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary as “to grow, spring up, or come forth.” Unfortunately for some Houstonians, three of our Sprouts locations are withering away. The cuts in Houston are part of a larger restructuring by Sprout’s Farmers Market, which recently announced plans to close 11 stores in the coming months. Some folks have heard this news and taken it to mean …
Read moreRetail News: Bun B’s Trill Burgers start work on former James Coney Island
Work on transforming the former James Coney Island at Richmond and S. Shepherd into Trill Burgers has begun. JCI closed this location for good in July 2022 after years of sluggish sales. JCI Grill, as they’re now known, has sold off most of its property in the past five years, closing many locations for Cabo Bob’s, leaving some to sit vacantly and others demolished. Overall, JCI has openly admitted that their property is much more …
Read moreA quick check-in on the Speedway Cafe in Texas City
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’ve got a quick post based on a user request (yes, you can make those!) We first checked out this Speedway station just about a year ago, and it was a surprising discovery for anyone familiar with the Speedway Chain. Since I’ve gained an increased following in the last year, let me quickly recap why this gas station is so unusual. Speedway is a gas …
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