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!

Steak ‘n Shake leaves Houston and Taco Bueno Arrives

The Katy location opened in 2010 and was the second in Houston.

Happy Fourth of July! To celebrate lets check out two chains both on their second run in Houston. Steak ‘n Shake returned to Houston in 2008 with their Eldridge and 1960 location. With the Katy, Pearland, and Webster locations opening 2012-2013. The previous incarnation of Steak n Shake dated from the mid-1970s and would only last until 1978. While I was never able to find an exact reason for them leaving Houston, it seems that lack of proper management was the largest cause. The second run of Steak ‘n Shake is deffinetly the winner for overall length, but there are …

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Spring Break Demolition Report: Bringing it to a Close

The feeder is where a neighbor's house one stood. This development predates I-10 by about 15 years.

Today we say goodbye to the Spring Break Demolition Report, with a palty list of 3 demolitions. Saying goodbye doesn’t mean that I wont ever do this again. I anticipate a repeat next Spring Break, this was never meant to be a permanent solution but a tiding over. If you enjoyed this or not, let me know, I always appreciate feedback. This is a list of the buildings which received a City of Houston demolition permit the day before this post.

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Half Price Books has left The Village

In July of 1981 Half Price Books opened in a prominent spot on University Boulevard. The first store to be built at the corner of University and Kirby was White House, which opened in June of 1941. A local department store chain, they were known for building smaller sized locations throughout the Houston suburbs. It would be purchased by the Meyer family, a group of family members who had been employed in various positions with Foley’s until they sold out to Federated in 1947. At this point they would switch the name to Meyer Bros. White House. In 1950, Only …

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Demolition Report: My attempt at a classic, February’s Retail Demolition Report

According to some old Chronicle Ads this was originally a Phillips 66.

As with many of my current readers, I still have a huge, Swamplot shaped hole in my heart. The rise in my frequency of posting is largely due in part to a few readers contacting me and mentioning that this site helped somewhat to fill the void. In my research I sometimes check demolition reports. I have been wanting to share the demolition reports I’ve seen. However, I wanted to make some distinctions from Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report. I’m only featuring commercial properties which have: some connection to retail, are interesting, or are historic. 02/03/20 – 1134 Hamblen Rd Humble, …

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