Today we’ll be taking a look at the 1987-88 Randall’s Food Almanac. What is a Food Almanac, you might ask? Well, it’s a year round collection of recipes, paired with coupons and vintage advertisements. Using a Food Almanac as advertising was not unique to Randall’s, but its debut was tied to a much bigger event, The 1987 Randall’s Food Fest. This was the third year of the newest celebration Randall’s had to offer. From samples …
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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 testament to our lack of Zoning Laws!
Houston is a city without zoning laws, and while that’s not news to most, it’s something Houstonians don’t generally encounter issues with. Through a mishmash of other regulations, NGOs, and other bureaucracy we’re able to have Houston maintain a pretty good facade of being a normal city. Except for the times when it’s not, like when the owner of 7624 McHenry decided his residential lot was the perfect place for new multiunit 2-floor apartments. Or …
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One last birthday dinner at Luby’s
Welcome reader, this time we celebrate my birthday at Luby’s one last time… geez that sounds a bit morbid does it not? Well for those of you not from the Houston area but happen to read this blog, or those of you who avoid cafeteria food, or you, yes even you, person who accidentally found this post via Google 5 years later, worry not as Luby’s time is up, not mine! It has long been …
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This Week in Demolition: It’s all about location
It’s 2018, you’re a property investor with a dream, of getting in on that sweet Second Ward redevelopment. At this point, some new building has occurred in the area, especially with new bars popping up. Although the area lacks a distinctive style, so you hedge your bets by building what could easily pass as, and may have been an early 20th century home on piers. So why tear it down in 2021? It’s all about …
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Retail News: Ollie’s Bargain Outlet comes to Houston!
Good Stuff, Cheap will soon be available in Northwest Houston as Ollie’s Bargain outlet prepares to open their first Houston location sometime this summer. While no official statement has been made by the company, a newly hung banner has confirmed online suspicions that an Ollie’s location will soon fill part of the former Target in the Steeplechase Center at the intersection of Jones Road and F.M. 1960. Anonymous in Houston also found online job postings …
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This Week in Demolition: Photos are key to selling a house
With the recent spike in real estate, and our increased digital browsing, it goes without saying how important photos are to selling a house. They say that photography is all about timing. While this realtor appears to have timed their photos poorly with freeze damaged plants, at least they’ve included pertinent photos. Houses this week are in order of interest. Photo Sources: HAR.com This is a list of the buildings which received a City of …
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Feeling square about Jack in the Box’s future
When was the last time you visited Jack in the Box? I recently had a conversation with a coworker about America’s second favorite clown fronted hamburger fast food restaurant. I had dropped by for lunch, that day and my coworker mentioned laughingly mentioned “I remember when Jack in the Box used to be in actual box buildings!” despite an age gap between this person and myself I remarked remembering these stores too. While the specific …
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What was Ashcraft European Bakery?
I was driving through Stafford the other day for an upcoming post, and happened upon a building I didn’t recognize. Generally when I drive around I have a nice mental GPS going, if you will. I can envision what buildings, landmarks, etc.. are coming up and surrounding me. Not an extraordinary feature by any stretch of the imagination but as you can assume retail enthusiasts’ mental GPS’s have far more information related to buildings and …
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This Week in Demolition: Living in the shadow of Hope City
This Week in Demolition we see the busiest Non-Residential Demolition list in quite some time! Starting off with smaller news, the original home of C&D Scrap Metal is slated to come down after sitting vacant since the $2 Bills were relocated to Bingle Road in 2016. Towards the center of town we find an unusual address 6100 Main, which any Owl Alums will quickly recognize as home of Rice University. The school announced in April …
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Retail News: Bowling closer to returning to former Palace Lanes, and Taco Bueno is back in Pasadena
Taco Bueno takes over for Krispy Kreme in Pasadena Good Monday to you morning loyal reader! Let’s start off this week off with another edition of Retail News. This first story comes to us from a reader’s tip. Good news to fans of Taco Bueno, if any, because the casual Tex-Mex drive-thru chain is expanding their Houston range even further. Some readers may remember Taco Bueno’s earlier presence in the Houston area which lasted from …
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