Did you know over the past year, Walgreens has been using Houston as a test market for a new store type? The announcements for the new stores were quiet, but the concept has made a huge impact. Growing up in and around Houston, most folks were very familiar with their neighborhood drug stores. In some neighborhoods it’s one of the closest options to a grocery store, and sometimes the only option. Even out in the suburbs where my family lived Walgreens was the closest thing we had to a store within walking distance. It proved to be a great asset …
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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!
This Week in Demolition: A former bank on a historic downtown plot
You can now subscribe to receive post updates via email. This can be done via the Subscribe box to the right of this post on the desktop version, and below the post on mobile. Thanks! This week in Demolition, we see multiple interesting demolition permits filed. Starting off with some of the more interesting houses we have 1149 Waverly an interesting 1920s cottage (no interior photos sadly!) in the Heights, also in the Heights a boring but charming 40s bungalow at 1230 Nicholson. Along with a bevy of other houses and photos that can be found in the listings below, …
Keep readingGoodbye Fry’s!
Think back to your formative years on computers. If you’re anywhere close in age to me, then these years span a wide timeline of operating systems from early memories of basic commands in Windows 3.1, ending during the time of Windows XP. I have lots of early computing memories which beyond screeching dial up noises involves going to stores like CompUSA, Best Buy, Microcenter, and on one occasion a trip to Incredible Universe. Unfortunately, these stores only served as walled gardens for me. While they provided lots of interesting things to look my reliance on my parents for money, as …
Keep readingThis Week in Demolition: Things start to get back to normal with a 30s bungalow in Upper Kirby
Before we start if you’re interested I now have a way to subscribe to my blog via email. There is a box in the sidebar you can input your email. If you’re on mobile scroll to the bottom of the page to find it. This week in demolition things start to get back to normal. I hope you’re seeing a return to normalcy for you and yours as we transition back into everyday life. Our demolition report for the week also sees a return to normalcy. Featuring a few houses in Garden Oaks, tons of older houses that were in …
Keep readingGeoffery’s Bargain Box of Toys: The Toys “R” Us Concept you probably never saw
On the heels of Toys “R” Us second departure from the Houston area (which I unfortunately have no photos of). I wanted to take a look at a store that TRU opened in Houston only months before their bankruptcy. You might be thinking, oh I already know all about Geoffrey’s Toy Box, however that was deployed post bankruptcy! You might even think, oh well duh everyone knows about the rural, child-sized Wal-Mart stores simply named Geoffrey (You should really check out those photos). Don’t be fooled though, the investment firm who ended up with TRU found one last way to …
Keep readingWhen Kid’s Meals came with records
Good morning! This week in demolition, we don’t really have any demolitions. With Winter Store Uri, City of Houston permitting offices were closed most of the week so only 2 new permits were issued. Both small houses with nothing very significant about them. However just because we don’t have a demolition post doesn’t mean we can’t have Monday content! So today I want to show you one of the cooler items in my collection of the “Houston Retail Museum”. This is one of my original Jack in the Box comic and flexi-disc stories. The stories, songs, and voice acting were …
Keep readingRetail News: Raceway speeds out and 7-11 Zooms In, Luby’s puts locations up for sale, & Randalls leaves Bellaire
Happy chilly Friday to you loyal readers! I hope you are all doing well and managing to stay warm, as power comes back on around the state. This post is coming a bit late due to technical difficulties between myself and the power grid, but I don’t need to tell you about that. So far in February we’ve had a decent amount of retail proceedings develop. First off what seems to have been a quiet deal between RaceTrac and Realty Income Corp. has left us with no more Raceway gas stations but has netted us some new 7-Eleven locations. Which …
Keep readingThis Week in Demolition: Flames lit under Candelari’s 1940s house
This week in demolition, things slow down a bit. Some interesting houses include 2532 Reba which is objectively the best-looking house of the week. The location in Avalon Place really ties the place together, although the house is a bit small by modern standards (those fish-eye lenses aren’t fooling anyone!). Next on the list is 12507 Woodthorpe which is a relatively unremarkable 60s Ranch with a primo location in the middle of Memorial Meadows. Finally, an honorable mention goes out to 2824 Isabella which looks like somebodies first attempt at building a house in The Sims. The title story of …
Keep readingWhen Fiesta failed to “Re-brand” Bravo Ranch
Fiesta Mart is one of the larger grocers in Houston with over 30 stores throughout the metropolitan area. They have been able to capture a niche market generally undeserved by more traditional retailers, specifically customers with foreign roots. This is far from accidental as the idea for Fiesta came from a Houston man who had experience managing grocery stores in South America. As the company grew and expanded the product mix shifted to cover multiple international communities who had a large presence in Houston. Some of Fiesta’s larger stores offer a shopping experience somewhat on par with a Kroger Marketplace …
Keep readingThis Week in Demolition: We lose a 1936 C.C. Rouse Colonial on Rice Blvd
This week in Demolition, we’ve got a lot to get into! Let’s start off with our headline. If you’re not in the know, C.C. Rouse was consistently considered one of Houston’s top builders in the early 20th century. Designing and constructing some of the most prominent homes in the city, and many in the River Oaks area, C.C. Rouse was known for building lavish homes, with ornate details.* Sadly, many of the original Rouse homes have been torn down, and even more have been remodeled. Today we lose another one with the demolition of 2224 Rice Blvd. sitting directly across …
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