HEB’s new Home by H-E-B lines have started to roll out at Houston stores. Back over 30 years ago, when HEB decided to try and brave the Houston grocery market, the company knew it had to differentiate itself to survive in this overcrowded market. Now, in 2022 the company is again breaking new ground with a selection of Home Goods in their grocery stores. HEB’s first Houston stores were under the guise of their Pantry Foods banner, with selections cut back to the bare minimum of what could be considered a Supermarket. Three decades later, the San Antonio-based chain had …
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This HEB in a former Holiday Foods Minimax has an interesting history
Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today we’re taking a look at a town South of Houston that retail history has mostly forgotten, Santa Fe. The grocery history of Santa Fe, Texas, is quite an interesting one. No major chains managed to take hold of the market until HEB showed up in 1993. Prior to that, the locals made do with independents. The area itself has an interesting history; Santa Fe is a relatively recent town, only popping up in 1978. Prior to that, the area was known as Alta Loma. The location was settled in the 1800s to …
Keep readingHalloween Costume Conversions 2022: Featuring Randall’s, Sears, and More!
Boo! And welcome to Houston Historic Retail! Today, we’re celebrating Halloween by checking out four costume conversions in what is HHR’s longest-running theme post dating back to 2018. Man, I was really playing to an empty room back then, but thankfully my fan base has grown substantially there are dozens of you now! Ever since the 2019 debut of Costume Conversions, the series has always been a favorite of mine. It’s always fun to get back into a dead retailer and see what got left behind. This year, we have the privilege of visiting a chain never seen as a …
Keep readingKaty Mills Walmart goes on an fulfillment diet!
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re taking a look at a new phenomenon in retail, a ‘hybrid store.’ This Wal-Mart at 25108 Market Place Drive in Katy, originally opened around 2000, is a beast of a store. A true Hypermarket, coming in at over 200,000 square feet. The store was typical in terms of size, selection, and layout when it was constructed. However, within the past ten or so years, new Super Center locations have shrunk back down closer to 100,000 Square Feet. While many of the mega stores outside of the Houston area were …
Keep readingThis HEB was an Albertson’s Grocery Palace, not so much lately though
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re checking out another Heberstons, this one at 10251 Kempwood Dr, Houston, TX 77043, if you were here the last time we took a look at an Albertsons turned HEB, it was down in Clear Lake. While we were there we discussed how the closing and relocation of that store was likely for the best. Even with the distaste that modern HEB decor leaves with most shoppers, it was definitely a step up, from what was an under-loved store by corporate. One of the biggest problems in Clear Lake stemmed …
Keep readingRetail News: Living Spaces, to take over former HEB spot at Westheimer & Fountain View
For the past 7 years, a prime piece of real estate just west of the Galleria. The former HEB at Westheimer and Fountain View shut their doors in early 2015, after a replacement location opened on San Felipe. As a grocery store, this location was notable as it was Houston’s first full-line HEB location, replacing the Pantry Foods concept. After shutting its doors 7 years ago, the space has temporarily reopened for pop-ups like Spirit Halloween. The first permanent tenant to secure the space is furniture retailer Living Spaces. The new furniture retailer had its start in California in 2008 …
Keep readingA Tour of Tomball Retail in 2000 and 1965
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston Loyal Houston Historic Retail readers may recall that a few weeks ago, we published a blog post showing screenshots from a YouTube video published by Dan Starr and filmed by his wife Amy that showed Tomball’s retail scene in the year 1998. Well, Dan has come through once again as he recently uploaded some video footage taken by Amy and her father in the year 2000. This footage, which was taken right after Y2K, shows some of the retailers from the 1998 video in greater …
Keep readingA Tour of Tomball Retail in 1998
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston Tomball might seem like just another Houston suburb today, but nearly a quarter of a century ago in 1998, Tomball was a bit of a distant place to visit even for those of us like myself who lived in the Northwest Houston suburbs in the Willowbrook Mall area. That said, I did visit Tomball quite frequently in the 1990s and through the turn of the Millennium period. Given that, what a surprise it was recently when I came across a video on YouTube posted by …
Keep readingLove thy HEB Neighborhood Market
These days in Houston a vacant grocery store doesn’t tend to sit for too long. While we don’t have a huge number of chains running around town these days to pickup the empty stores, we do have some independents. Even locations that have hit the end of their useful life as grocery stores, are often converted into other types of stores. We’re a town of opportunity, and lax (not non-existent) zoning laws help allow for easy transitions. However, that’s not to say you can’t find any unoccupied supermarket buildings in Houston. If a building is not being reused there are …
Keep readingHEBway a Rare Example in 2021
Howdy folks, welcome back to another edition of Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a look at an HEB at 200 W Hopkins St, San Marcos, TX 78666 that, while not in Houston, was once part of the Houston division of Safeway and AppleTree stores. Located in San Marcos, it lost its Houston affiliation with the 1994 purchase by H-E-B. The store was built in 1984, to replace an older location on the same property. The first Safeway in San Marcos originally opened in 1972, built on most of a city block that was purchased from various homeowners and other …
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