Houston Historic Retail

It looks like the retail center housing long-time Upper Kirby favorites Avalon Diner and Shanghai River may soon be demolished for a 14-story office tower. The situation seems to have first come to light on HAIF last week. While the demolition of the building is not yet set, Trammel Crow and CBRE have launched a website detailing their plans for the tower, which include multiple offices, parking, and ground-floor retail. While this ground-floor retail includes …

Supermarket Decor is not something we have an excess of in Houston. In fact, in a talk with Randall Onstead, I had a while back, we discussed the declining role of style and looks in grocery. Randall expressed that there was a disconnect between the older generations, who valued looks and feel, and modern shoppers, who were price-conscious above anything else. The emphasis on everyday low prices means grocery shopping really isn’t what it once …

Just over a week after Bloomberg News wrote about 99 Cent Only Stores potentially filing bankruptcy, news has broken that the chain will instead window business complete sometime shortly. According to the Chain Store Age article that broke the news, liquidation sales are set to begin today at all 371 locations. Of these stores, 51 are located in Texas, making it 99 Cents Only’s second-largest market, behind its home state of California. The deep discounter …

Another Fuddruckers “corporate-owned” location in the Houston area has shut down in the past couple of weeks. The location at 11445 Fountain Lake Dr, Stafford, TX 77477, was shut down just prior to a lockout by the landlord for missing multiple months’ rent, according to a sign posted on the door. While a handwritten sign from the Fudds crew indicated this was a temporary closure, the sad wording makes it seem like this may not …

The Food Town location at 8800 West Sam Houston Parkway in the former Auchan closed just over a week ago. The closure was announced, but it was a bit unexpected by the Houston retail community. HHR visited the store last week to investigate what was going on with the space. When Auchan closed in 2003, Grocers Supply Co. purchased and subdivided the building, with about half the space going to Food Town. As far as …

GFS, Gordon Food Service, opened its newest retail outlet in the greater Houston area on March 26th. The new location, located at 2402 45th St, Galveston, TX 77550, is the first bulk store on the Island and the first new grocery chain to arrive since HEB’s stint in the former Safeway (1990-2008). This new GFS location actually takes the place of a Gerland’s, which closed over 20 years ago. This store will also be the …

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR! Today, we’re stopping somewhere I haven’t been in quite a while: an antique store! The last time we visited one was the Alvin Antique Center, formerly a Bottom Dollar Discount Store. I haven’t been doing too much antiquing since then. I still pick up retail nick-nacks at thrift stores, where I see them occasionally. However, I haven’t been able to find too much. So, when I visited this …

The Walgreens in Braeswood Square is undergoing remodeling, and has temporarily moved their pharmacy only to a new spot in the shopping center. Walgreens is the only original tenant still left from Braeswood Square’s 1971 grand opening. The store is a bit different now than when it originally opened. Braeswood Square was an early attempt at a “sidewalk mall” by Weingarten Realty. The two anchors in the mall were Weingartens and Walgreens, and the shops …

Editor’s Note: Today’s photos are graciously supplied by Holcombe of Hidalgo on Flickr If you’ve lived in Houston for any amount of time, then you’ve probably driven past Más Club or at least the remnants of Más Club. While I never ventured inside during its short existence, I was at least aware of the store, and it was well-known enough that it ended up with its own Wikipedia article. It reads a bit like a …