Newcomers enter into Houston Howdy, folks, and welcome back to our regularly scheduled Permit Roundup! This week seems to have been relatively quiet as far as new filings go. However, we do have a few standouts, so let’s start with those. Two “out of town” restaurants have filed permits to build locations in Houston. One of these is Mr. Potato. The restaurant concept was born over in New Orleans originally as a food truck, opening their first brick and mortar location in 2020. An article earlier this year from Nola.com gives a good rundown on the chain, but the idea …
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Permit Roundup: Otto’s on Durham won’t be an Otto’s, Exclusive Furniture to replace Former West Oaks Barnes & Nobles, and other retail goings on!
Otto’s on Durham, isn’t going to be an Otto’s At 903 Durham, a permit has been filed for a build out of a new restaurant, which was first envisioned back in 2018. When originally pitched, the new combined lot, was meant to serve as a combination catering kitchen, and BBQ restaurant. The venture was undertaken by the current owners of the Otto’s locations remaining in Houston, and the restaurant was pitched with the Otto’s name and logo prominently displayed on the building. Despite all this flash and show, at some point the name was changed to Doc’s Smokehouse, and if …
Keep readingPermit Roundup: New Retail Spaces Appear Throughout Town, Multiple Remodels, and New Restaurants
Welcome back to our second Permit Roundup, this week our post is a bit shorter than last week. It seems similarly to Demolitions Reports, the Residential/Commercial balance changes from week to week, again with an emphasis on the residential permits. Also, if you didn’t read it in yesterday’s demolition post, my server is running very slowly at the moment, but I am in the process of updating, so please bear with me in the meantime. Regents Square, is an in progress mixed-used development with the unique goal of “Creat[ing] Houston’s premier mixed-use development and its first truly pedestrian-oriented city district.” …
Keep readingRetail News: Wait a minute.. who just bought Luby’s and Fuddruckers?!
Happy Friday to you all dear readers! Hitting the “top of the retail charts” this week has been the sale of both the Luby’s and Fuddruckers brands, in addition to multiple locations. This is joyous news as it means you can continue to stuff yourself silly with hamburgers, and Luanne Platters, and as both chains are slated to live on, it’s even possible that some co-brand locations may remain open. With all this excitement for the survival of both restaurants, it seems little emphasis has been put on the details of both deals, so let’s break that down today! …
Keep readingPermit Roundup: 7-Eleven lands in Katy, Indoor Paintball in Spring Branch, and Speculation on Washington Ave.
Howdy folks and welcome to… what I’m hoping may become a somewhat regular feature here on Houston Historic Retail. This is what I’m calling a Permit Roundup, the majority of my information for this post is based on permits that have been filed with the City of Houston. The point of this is to provide one of the earliest possible looks at up and coming retail development throughout the Houston area, somewhat in the vein of what the late great Swamplot did. This is still something I’m trying out, so let me know what you think in the comments! Corporate …
Keep readingRetail News: Two more Fuddruckers closer to closing, including one in a former Arbys
So, let’s start off this post with the elephant in the room, Fuddruckers as a chain is not going out of business. Luby’s Inc is in the process of liquidation, but they have yet to announce final closing dates for corporate owned stores. While the sale of any remaining Luby’s Cafeterias is low to unlikely, Fuddruckers locations have been somewhat easier to unload. With the majority going to a company named Black Titan LLC, along with the iconic Memorial City location going to former Luby’s Inc CEO Chris Pappas, and many other locations already under franchisee ownership. As part of …
Keep readingRetail 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 for the new location. This marks the second permanent tenant for the former Target since the store relocated closer to 290 in the early 2000s. …
Keep readingRetail 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 the 1970s-1980s fondly. While reporting on Taco Bueno’s return to Houston I found the food to be somewhat appetizing, but for the most part rather …
Keep readingRetail News: Costco’s new Business Center doesn’t quite fit in ‘The Grid’ and My Fit Foods officially returns in Houston
Costco’s Business Center doesn’t quite snap into place in Stafford’s Grid If you’ve been paying attention to any local business news lately you know that Houston’s hottest new mixed-use development “The Grid“, has turned slightly more commercial with the announcement a new Costco location. The Grid was originally envisioned as a mixed used center with a focus on mostly entertainment and multi-family housing. The only retail in the center were some small shops, and a fair number of restaurants. Plans called for a Movie Theater (Cinépolis) and driving range (Drive Shack) to open around the of 2019 to beginning of …
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 …
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