Carl’s Jr. left Houston in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Down to just a few locations, and seemingly unable to find staffing over the past few years, Carl’s had a less than grand time in the Houston market. The chain had only been in the Houston market about 10 years before pulling the plug. Various locations have found one-off tenants, like a subdivided 24 Subway, or even Taco Bueno’s reentry into the …
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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!
A&W and Long John Silvers, a match made in Louisville but now found in Austin
Howdy folks, and welcome to HHR! Today we’re taking a break from H-Town and its affairs to check out a now rare eatery, that was once a common combo in Texas. A&W and Long John Silvers. Today we’re skipping the formal stuff, and skipping straight to the nostalgia. Well, most of the formal stuff at least, a little bit of history first. The food franchising giant “Yum Foods” which famously operates KFC, Taco Bell, and …
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This former Weingarten still uses Grand Union decor 40 years later!
Howdy and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re driving to Texas City to visit a former Weingarten, largely still wearing its Grand Union era decor! This store is located at 915 6th St, Texas City, TX 77590, and originally opened in 1952. While the store has seen some expansions over the years, much of the original store is still in use. The Weingarten locations of the 1950s used what some consider to be a …
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Retail News: National Grocer Lands former Belden’s Spot in Braeswood Square
Update 6/13: The new grocer has been confirmed as GFS. In early 2020 Belden’s in Braeswood Square closed their doors, after nearly 70 years of continuous operations closing a long chapter in Houston grocer. While official publications haven’t said exactly who will take this new spot, it is known that Braeswood Square, will once again be host to a national grocery tenant for the first time in 35 years! Belden’s initially started off as a …
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Headline News: Houston’s newest CVS moves into old Houston Post Building!
Houstonians of a certain age, remember when the city had more than one daily newspaper. Up until 1995, The Houston Post was the Chronicle’s last direct competitor before being dismantled as part of the slow decline of print media. It was often a dividing line to declare yourself as a Chronicle family or a Post family. The Post was considered to be more conservative, and the Chronicle more progressive, a division that went all the …
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Randall’s Going Out of Business Sale in Sugar Land and Why This Time It’s a Little Bit Different
Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Let me offer you a short introduction, as many people will likely find this via Google or Facebook (normal readers just play along). The following is a “Photo Essay”. It’s not meant to answer exactly why the Randall’s in Sugar Land is closing. However, it should offer some insight into how Randall’s got into the shape it is today. If you have an interest in this type …
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Who killed Greenspoint? A look at the Mall, and a discussion about the community
Welcome back to Houston Historic Retail, where Dead Malls are a bit of a specialty. Chances you learned about this blog through one of our mall-based posts about dead, dying, or otherwise. Houston’s dead mall problem has never been particularly bad. While we’ve had malls that have been problematic, we’ve usually been limited to one to two malls dying at a time, and in the 4th largest city in the United States, and that ain’t …
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Retail News: Phonecia’s got company, as 99 Ranch Market lands ex-CompUSA spot
Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. In this week’s news brief 99 Ranch Market lands an anchor spot, on Westheimer, and Quiktrip prepares for its first Houston proper location. 99 Ranch Market lands former CompUSA spot on Westheimer across from Phonecia Nearly two months ago, I posted some photos to Facebook of the old CompUSA/Goodwill Computer Works spot on Westheimer near Kirkwood. The interior of the buildings was being gutted, and nearly every tenant …
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A Speedway Gas Station in Texas? It’s more common than you think!
For those in the know of Speedway, the Houston area isn’t a market you’d expect to find the chain in. Even after an aggressive expansion campaign that landed the chain with a handful of stores in and around El Paso, H-Town is far from Speedway’s turf. The reason for the location of the store is due to the previous parent company of Speedway, Marathon Oil. The first Speedway to be built in Texas actually dates …
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Fishing Tackle Unlimited closing means the end for this historic former Sugar Land Grocery Store
Fishing Tackle Unlimited, the Fishing Superstore, located just outside the entrance to the Sugar Creek Neighborhood, has recently closed. While I’m not sure exactly when the store shut down, it seems to have been sometime in early April of this year. Fishing Tackle Unlimited is hardly the first tenant here, but it has done a great job of preserving the history of an important building in the area. For many years, this was one of …
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