Author: Mike
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!
A postmortem in-Spec’s-tion of Rice Epicurean
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR! Today we’re checking in on the former final Rice Epicurean. After closing late last July, Rice left nearly everything in the store without their name on it, for new tenant Spec’s. While I attempted to reach out to Spec’s about plans for their future store, I did not hear back. At the moment, nothing has been changed structure-wise, and as of this article, I couldn’t find any permits …
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Retail News: Sears at Willowbrook Mall’s last gasp!
Sears Hometown Store at Willowbrook Mall is having its last gasp this upcoming week. While store employees could not provide a final date, they said this week would likely be it for them, as the store slowly runs out of stock. What little remained in the store largely consisted of fixtures and merchandise that had been purchased but yet to be picked up. Many of the items in the store had been shipped in from …
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The History of Twistee Treat’s Freeze and Thaw Cycle in Houston
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Ice cream is an essential summer treat, and for such a warm state, we lack a major presence from most frozen dessert chains other than a few ice cream parlors. We do have Dairy Queen, but unlike many other states, which feature mostly ice cream, and little food, our model is flipped. Utilizing an expanded Brazier menu, which became so common, the Brazier moniker was dropped …
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Former Venture/Kmart preserved as Viet Hoa for over 20 years!
Howdy, or Xin Chao, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re visiting a Vietnamese Grocer in a nearly perfectly preserved former Venture/Kmart. In July 1995, the building at 8300 W Sam Houston Pkwy S, Houston, TX 77072 would open as Venture Store #141. Making it one of the last Texas locations and the final planned Houston area store. Although Sugar Land would open a few months later, plans for that store came first. …
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Retail News: Ollie’s Friendswood to open Wednesday
Nearly one year after its debut, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is opening a second Houston area location Wednesday, September 9th. This store located at 18182 Gulf Fwy, Friendswood, TX 77546, has been a long time coming and was part of the reason Houston lost its only Dick’s Warehouse store. As of now, Ollie’s third and only other publically planned Houston store is on the Westside at 1747 Fry Road Katy, TX 77449.
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Krispy Shipley, this doughnut shop had quite the rebellious teen phase
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re at 12403 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77077 taking a look at a doughnut shop that has been host to quite a few tenants in its time. Even now, as a Shipley Do-Nuts location, this store still stands out from others in the chain. This building was originally built by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts as their first Houston location. Work started in 1998 on this combo …
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Weingarten’s lives on through Kroger in the Heights!
Weingarten’s was a grocer I never knew, and if I had to take a guess, it’s a store most of my readers never knew either. Even though Weingarten’s was long gone by the time I was around, the name was still eponymous for a grocery store in Houston. As well, despite a less than stellar exit, the opinion most Houstonians held of Weingarten’s was still overwhelmingly positive, with most chalking up those final years to …
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Retail News: Let the Tim Bits flow, Tim Horton’s in Katy finally holds soft-opening
Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Thanks to readers in Katy for keeping HHR abreast of the Katy Coffee Wars and its latest chapter as Tim Hortons has finally opened its first Texas location. The soft-opening took place yesterday, Monday, August 29th, and according to Google Reviews, a full grand opening is planned for September 9th. Canucks may notice two oddities about our Tim Horton’s location. First, our store features the ‘United States …
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Retail News: Gordon Food Stores starts making some real progress!
Gordon Food Service, a wholesale distributor and operator of GFS Retail Outlets, have yet to make any official announcement on their entry into Houston. Although it is quite apparent that their intent is open as quickly as possible. The story behind GFS, first broke here on HHR back in April when initial permits were initially filed by the company. Progress, however, was slow, with construction sites sitting mostly dormant, as behind the scenes, Gordon worked …
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